


nothing to fix

by 9Melodious_Nocturne9, the_forgotten_daydreamer



Series: Voltron: Legendary Defender [8]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha Allura (Voltron), Alpha Hunk (Voltron), Alpha Keith (Voltron), Alpha Shiro (Voltron), Alpha/Omega, Anxiety, Best space uncle out there, Beta Coran (Voltron), Beta Pidge | Katie Holt, Explicit Sexual Content, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Hospitalization, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Insecure Lance (Voltron), M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Medication, Needles, Omega Lance (Voltron), Panic Attacks, Sex, Sexual Content, Shameless Smut, Smut, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Space Uncle Coran (Voltron), Vomiting, especially in chapter three, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:55:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21545632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/9Melodious_Nocturne9/pseuds/9Melodious_Nocturne9, https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_forgotten_daydreamer/pseuds/the_forgotten_daydreamer
Summary: Lance is an omega and nobody knows about it, so when he runs out of suppressants, he tries to hide his "condition", scared that the traumatizing events of his past might happen again. Everyone is worried, but Lance just can't spill his secret. Will he open up before it's too late..?-Written by: the_forgotten_daydreamerBeta: 9Melodious_Nocturne9
Relationships: Coran & Lance (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), Lance & Voltron Paladins
Series: Voltron: Legendary Defender [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680511
Comments: 74
Kudos: 526





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ah shit, here we go again... Will I ever stop with VLD content? I don't think so.  
> A big, big thanks to my dear irl friend 9Melodious_Nocturne9 who is also a wonderful beta and to whom I owe this work (he had the idea!).  
> Love you, baby!  
> -  
> Also, we do not own VLD nor these characters.

Being an omega had never been easy. His whole family- except for his mother- were proud, strong alphas, dominant, carefree.

But Lance hadn’t been given the luxury of that life: his parents had found out only when he was thirteen years old, the heat hitting him like a train at full speed and forcing him in bed for long, agonizing days.

In all honesty, his mother didn’t care much, because being an omega had nothing bad to it. But his father, oh, he had not taken the news very well.

-

_“That thing is a male and an omega! It’s disgraceful!” Lance’s father screamed, hands in his hair, “it would’ve been bad enough for a daughter of mine to be an omega, but a son..!”_

_“You will NOT speak of our child like that, Tulio,” Lance’s mother- Beatriz- yelled at her husband, pointing her finger in his chest “he is our baby and will be loved as such, no matter his gender nor the role he’ll have!”_

_The man grabbed his wife’s wrist firmly, looking at her in the eyes, threateningly, “Woman, don’t you understand? We must fix this!”_

_“Christ! There is nothing to fix, because nothing is wrong with our Lance! How can you be so cruel!? What has he done to you? What have omegas done to you?” Beatriz asked, eyes filled with angry tears._

_Tulio scoffed, letting her go, “Omegas are looked down at, and no McClain will ever have to face that destiny under my watch”_

_“Oh, so… Am I looked down at? By whom, you?” the woman asked, a disgusted grin on her wrinkled face, “And tell me, do you really think that everyone is like you, and that would be a piece of shit, for the record. Do you think so?”_

_“Stop, you know it’s not what I meant” he noted, annoyed._

_“Trust me when I tell you that I can exactly tell what you’re thinking about just by looking in your eyes,” the woman sighed, “I can’t believe you. We’ve been blessed with a kind, smart and gorgeous child, and you’re ready to abandon him for something that not only is not bad itself, but that he also has no power over? Shameful!”_

_“We have other children too, and-”_

_“And what!?” Beatriz yelled, fists at her sides, “They’re better because they all have the ability to impregnate someone? That’s it?” she shook her head, “Marco, Luis, Veronica, Rachel and Lance are all equally important and valid to my eyes, and they should be the same to you. You’re Lance’s father as well, for Christ’s sake, have some respect toward him!”_

_Tulio’s fists hit the table before his wife could even see that coming, sending all the glasses and bottles from dinner tumbling down, staining the white tablecloth in wine and water, “He is an omega, Beatriz, an omega! How do you think that his friends will treat him when they find out? They’ll bully him and isolate him from the group, and that will only mean more trouble for us-”_

_“Helping your bullied kid is not a ‘trouble’, it’s your job as a parent! And-” she laughed, shocked, “what year do you think we’re in? Kids now are smarter; his friends will understand! It’s not rare to find an omega male, and I’m sure one of his classmates too will have to be so, statistically”._

_The man shrugged, “I want him to go on suppressants from tomorrow, and I won’t tolerate any objection from neither of you”_

_“Suppressants? Do you know how bad they are for our bodies? T-those meds will mess everything up, and he won’t be himself anymore! And what if Lance stopped to take them for any other reason? Have you ever thought about withdrawal? No,” the woman shook her head, baffled, “if Lance doesn’t want take them, we can’t and won’t force him to do so”._

_The voice from the living-room door came quiet and unsteady, “I will ta-take them. I will take suppressants”._

_Beatriz turned around, horrified to find her son there, who stood trembling and flushed in red, “Mijo..!”_

_“If- if papá wants me to, I w-will do it,” he muttered, “he’s r-right, my friends won’t understand. I… They’re all alphas, I know th-that…”_

_“Lance, mi amor, you don’t have to-” the woman whispered, approaching him._

_Tulio interrupted her abruptly, “Yes, he does. Good choice, Lance,” he said, sparing his son a look of distaste, “you will start treatment tomorrow morning. Return to bed now, and don’t leave until you’re cured”._

_The boy nodded shaking, and turned around, leaving._

_-_

And now, after four long years of treatment and a lot of crisis to adjust to the meds, Lance found himself unprepared for the second time in his life.

Of course, when he’d left Earth, he didn’t have suppressants with him. _Of course._

The Cuban cursed his luck, sitting on the floor in his room at the Castle, defeated. He’d desperately searched everywhere, rummaging through the wardrobe- his few clothes now ungraciously unfolded- and the bathroom’s cabinet, sending its content on the floor, forgotten. He’d looked under the bed, on the desk and in its drawers; everywhere. But his meds were just not there.

Lance’s breath hitched, panic setting in his stomach, rapidly, the pre-heat symptoms now too evident to hide.

Because the other paladins were all alphas, except for Pidge, who’d been gifted with being a beta. And, according to Allura, all the previous paladins were alphas too.

-

_“It is truly a rare event for a Lion to accept a non-alpha pilot, as this has never happened before” the Princess had explained not even a week after the earthlings had arrived, “you should be honored, Pidge” she smiled._

_“Oh- I am, trust me” they answered, shrugging and blushing._

_At that, Lance wondered if it was a good time to actually warn the team about his… ‘Condition’, as his father used to call it._

_“Uh, guys-”_

_“I mean, I can see why Green accepted you; a beta is something in between, so it’s not too bad of a choice. At least you betas are not as unstable as all of those omegas… Poor things!” Allura joked, and Lance instantly shut his mouth._

_-_

Lance shivered at the memory, pearls of cold sweat damping his forehead.

“They’ll smell me. They’ll smell me and they’ll know. And I’ll be screwed,” he muttered under his breath, rocking back and forth, “I will be kicked out of the team, I will die unsatisfied and alone and-”

His stream of consciousness got interrupted by a blaring alarm, _Garla incoming!,_ and Lance quickly scrambled to his feet, swaying slightly.

_Shit._

Automatically, he quickly sprayed himself with a strong, nauseating deodorant from head to toe, in a faint attempt to somewhat reduce the smell of excited hormones; then, he put his armor on, and left in a hurry.

The run to the main deck was atrocious, as waves of nausea and heat almost sent the boy’s tired body to the floor more than once.

And, _of course,_ he was the last one to arrive, earning an annoyed ( _or worried? Maybe both?_ ) scold from everyone.

“What took you so long!? No, nevermind, there’s no time-” Allura murmured, shaking her head in disappointment, “you must all get to your Lions now, we’re under attack! Move!” the Princess yelled, and the others obliged.

-

The fight had been relatively easy and quick, only a dozen of enemy cruiser ships to get down.

But Lance, oh, he was experiencing hell right now, literally.

Everything about his strained body screamed _that_ word, heat and cramps making his bones feel like jelly, his head spinning like a merry-go-round.

_“-ce? Lance? Dude!”._

He blinked, “Huh..! H-Hunk, what is it?”

 _“You okay? You haven’t said anything today”_ the Samoan noted, worry evident even only through his tone.

Lance blinked rapidly, “Oh- I’m fine, dude, totally! I was just busy thinking about how easily we kicked their purple ass today” he joked with a chocked laugh, forcedly.

 _“Hell yeah, it was great!”_ his friend replied, laughing.

Keith cut in, sighing, _“You barely did anything-”_

“Watch it, Mullet!”

Shiro cleared his throat loudly, startling everyone in the comm-link, _“Guys, quit it. Let’s head back to the Castle”._

The Cuban boy muttered an apology to his leader, and turned Blue around, silencing the comm-link, “B-baby, do you think you can handle this? I’m feeling kinda… Sick” he whispered through a sob, a gag trapped in his throat.

His Lion purred softly in response.

“Thanks. You’re the best, Blue…” he murmured, slumped back in his seat.

After a few doboshes, they all reached the Castle; Lance hopped off his Lion, stumbling but quickly recovering, “Damn, I’m so tired,” he said out loud in his usual, exaggerate tone, but not lying completely, “I could sleep for days”.

Frankly, he had become excellent at wearing that mask, but without suppressants, everything seemed harder, his emotions now evident, the scent betraying him, the truth under everybody’s nose, literally.

Pidge punched him lightly in the arm, earning a ‘ouch’ from him, “Ow come on, Lance, we didn’t do anything all day!”

“Speak for yourself, gremlin. I had some stuff to do” he moaned, rolling his eyes tiredly, but never losing his fake grin.

Pidge fixed their glasses and raised an eyebrow, “Jerking off?” they laughed.

“Wh- Pidge, what the fuck,” he said, dragging the letter ‘u’ longer than necessary, “why does your mind always go there!?”

“Yours doesn’t? It’s almost mating time, isn’t it? Aren’t your alphas senses tingling or something?” they asked, small hands moving in mid-air.

Lance shook his head, truly bewildered and a bit scared, “First of all, yes, it’s almost mating time,” he replied, “second, I’m not the SpiderMan rip-off you just described, it doesn’t work like that for us!” he bitterly laughed internally at ‘ _us’_ , “And finally... Again, what the fuck, Pidge!”.

They laughed, loudly.

“Hey,” Hunk jogged toward them, “what are you two talking about? I wanna laugh too!” he muttered with puppy eyes.

“Lance is horny and he jerks off to his secret crush” the shortest explained, jokingly.

“Ha.Ha.Ha. Funny, Pidge, hilarious… Really” Lance rolled his tired eyes once more, but laughed along. On the outside, at least.

On the inside, he felt like dying. His heart ached with every lie he told, feeling out of place, wrong, bad. Because Pidge was right. He was horny. Just… Not in the way he was supposed to be.

_I don’t belong with them. I don’t belong with anybody..._

“Ugh, you two are revolting,” Hunk noted, shaking his head, “hey Pidge, can you give us a moment, please? I need to speak with Lance for a sec”.

They shrugged, “Yeah, I’ll just hit the showers. Later!” and that said, they left.

“What’s wrong, dude?” Lance asked, returning his attention to Hunk and raising his eyebrow in the faint attempt to convince his best friend that he didn’t know what the issue could be at all.

_My best friend… I lied to him... Some nice friend I am, huh..._

“I should be asking you that,” the Samoan replied, concerned, “are you okay?”

Lance nodded energetically, cursing his idea as his head spun, “I already told you that I’m fine, man. What’s this about?”

The other scratched his neck, voice unsure, “You seemed off today. And yesterday too, to be fair… I just want to make sure-”

“Hunk, dude, I’m okay, I promise! I’m just a bit tired, I haven’t been sleeping much” he lied.

“Why’s that?”

Lance shrugged, “No clue, it just happens sometimes. I’ll be okay once I shower and eat; I feel like I’ll sleep for ten vargas straight tonight” he laughed, because that wasn’t a complete lie.

“…You sure?”.

The Blue Paladin exhaled, but smiled kindly, “A hundred percent, Hunk”

“…And if something was wrong, you’d tell me?” the Yellow Paladin questioned, tilting his head and letting the headband strings fall to the side.

Lance nodded, swallowing loudly, “Yes, of course…”

“Are you s-”

“Paladins,” Allura called, approaching them, “why are you two still here, in the hangar? You must go change, dinner will be served in less than a varga and I will not tolerate sweaty people at the table. And neither will Coran, since he’s the one who sets the cleaning-bots” she sighed, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, sorry Princess,” the Yellow Paladin muttered, nodding, “see you later!”.

Lance nodded and followed, but his path got interrupted as Allura grabbed his wrist tightly.

“Lance, a word, please”.

He swallowed the thick saliva down, and breathed in, wearing the mask once again, “Anything for you, m’lady”.

The woman sighed and rolled her cerulean, bright eyes, “Listen, I get that you have been here only for a spicolian movement and a half, and that this situation must be very new to you,” she stopped, looking at him firmly, “but you are the only one who seems to have trouble adjusting to it. I thought your efficiency would have improved by now, but I fear you’re slacking off. I need, no, the universe needs to know if you are suited to be a Paladin of Voltron, a Defender of the universe” she finished, crossing her arms again.

Lance’s eyes were evidently watering now, not only due to Allura’s speech, but to the heat’s violence too, “Princess, I-”

“Can we trust you with this duty, Lance?” she asked, stern.

He nodded rapidly, straightening up, “O-of course, Princess, I’ll… I’ll do better, I swear” he basically yelled, fear clutching his stomach.

The girl in front of him stared, uncertain, but eventually left, patting the boy’s shoulder on her way out, “Do not fail us, Lance”.

-

Lance cursed loudly, sitting under the blessedly cold water spray in the shower, a faint yet effective relief for his boiling body.

The boy looked down at his member, feeling tender just like his rear now. He whimpered loudly, burying his face in his pointy knees.

“What do I do..? What do I do now?” he repeated like a mantra, rocking back and forth.

They couldn’t expect him to go on without his suppressants. He needed those.

The meds controlled his emotions and strong feelings, repressed his primordial instincts, made him feel _at ease, normal._

-

_“Doctor, what happens if I stop taking these?” thirteen year-old Lance asked to the medic who’d given him the pills, shaking the container curiously._

_The woman wearing a white scrub sighed, “You would experience what is commonly known as withdrawal. To put it easily, your body will become inevitably addicted to these suppressants, and if you stopped taking them, your organism would rebel. The most common symptoms usually include nausea, headaches of various intensity, fatigue and irritability; of course, one could experience all of these, only a few, neither, maybe, or even more. It really depends… But,” she stopped, putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder gently, “as a medic, I should warn you that stopping to take these abruptly would be very, very painful for you. So, in case you wished to stop the cure, you’d have to ask a professional… Don’t try to do this on your own, please”._

_Lance swallowed loudly as tears pricked at the corner of his blue eyes, “I won’t, I promise”._

-

He sobbed, grabbing his head.

Why him? He’d taken those meds regularly, never skipping, being diligent and careful with dosages and timing. 

It wasn’t Lance’s fault if he’d stopped, it really wasn’t. But now… He felt wrong. 

It was all too hot, too heavy, too much for him, too much to bear.

Lance’s cries became erratic as he desperately gulped for air, his lungs squeezing and burning, his throat feeling tight and stuffed. He felt like crap.

His body wanted him to vomit, but how was Lance supposed to oblige if his throat was literally closed? How could he force something up when he didn’t even had the strength necessary to breathe, now?

However, apparently, the human body had its ways, as the Cuban quickly bolted out of the shower and retched, missing the toilet by far. His spasming body kept lurching, forcing liquified food to go all the way backwards, over and over and over.

Lance’s wet hands and knees slipped on the bathroom tiles, and he laughed bitterly at the irony, resembling a broken recorder.

Being on all fours made him feel great and _satisfied_ at the moment, despite the vomiting and his boiling skin.

_Oh, if only papá could see me now… He’d laugh so, so much!_

After another quick vomiting session, his unconscious form slumped forward, and Lance’s pale face simply fell into the mess he’d made with a loud _splotch._

The boy regained his bearings shortly after that, his blue, dazed eyes, wandering around.

God, how he wanted to just lay there and cry this off.

But his instincts- repressed for so many years and finally free to act- were telling him something, and trusting those was his best shot in that situation.

Lance’s arms buckled as he propped himself up again, shivering despite that persistent boiling sensation under his itching skin. He dragged himself in and immediately out of the shower for a quick rinse, not even bothering to dry his body as he made his way to the room, stumbling and tripping all the way there.

With great effort, the paladin quickly pushed everything on his bed off of it, and violently ripped the mattress cover, the bed sheet and the blanket off and put them in the empty corner of the room; the paladin then gathered his shirts, jackets and pajamas- still on the floor from before- adding them too to the pile of cloth.

Lance wondered where he could find more. 

_The laundry…_

As he approached the door, he realized that he was still, in fact, naked.

_Ugh, mierda…_

The young paladin sighed, and made his way to the bathroom again, drying his body sheepishly with the first towel he’d found. When it came to his hips, he swore loudly: how he needed to do _that_ , only God knew it. But Lance couldn’t bring himself to do it himself, despite it surely would’ve helped a bit, relieving some stress and calming the symptoms of heat.

He looked down again at his throbbing genitals, and sighed. _Maybe later..._

Lance finished drying himself, missing a few spots but not caring that much, and after he threw on some of the clothes he’d previously used to build his gaunt nest, he left to get some more items.

“Laundry, laundry… Where’s the laundry..?” he chanted, looking around, slightly out of it.

A voice behind him, urgent and sudden, almost sent him flying up in the air.

“Lance! What are you doing?”.

The boy slowly turned around, a fake grin on his flushed face- _thank God I’m tan enough to hide it…_

“H-hey Shiro, how are you?” he croaked out.

The man raised an eyebrow, and looked at him from head to toe, just as Allura had done some doboshes prior, 

“We’ve been called down for dinner, but you didn’t show up”

“Ah, sorry, I was having a long, relaxing shower..,” he said, truthfully, “besides, I’m not really hungry now”

“...But are you okay?” Shiro wondered, “You’ve been acting strangely all day long, it’s not like you! And, you not being hungry is… Worrying” he finished.

Lance’s heart- and something else- throbbed violently: Shiro, the fearless leader, a powerful alpha, the head of Voltron, was worried about _him_.

“I’m okay,” he whispered, feeling so, so small, yet tight, “I’m just tired, I guess. I’ll do better tomorrow”

“Lance,” the man called, firmly yet softly, “I’m not reproaching you; having an off day every now and then is okay. I am just... Concerned for your health, physical and mental. You can talk to me, you know that?” he smiled, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder, at which Lance flinched, gasping and boiling.

"S-sorry"

“Lance, what's wrong? You’re shaking, and… You’re hot,” Shiro noted, removing the hand, _no, please, put it back!_ "are you sick?”

The boy shook his head, raising his hands in panic, “No, no, I’m okay! Again, I’m just tired, really”.

Shiro tilted his head a bit, “But I think you’re running a fever… I’d feel better if you’d let Coran run some tests, to know what we’re dealing with” he said, crossing his strong arms.

“Shiro,” Lance exhaled, sounding annoyed, “I am fine! Just, let me rest up a bit, and tomorrow I’ll be fresh as a daisy, I promise” he swore.

The older man didn’t look entirely convinced, but nodded nonetheless, “Okay, I believe you. But I’ll send someone to check up on you in a couple of hours, to make sure your fever doesn’t spike-”

“No!” Lance snapped, his and Shiro’s eyes widening comically, “No, I’m- no, don’t send anyone, I will be okay” he yelled, and the other raised his hands, mimicking to slow down,

“Okay, okay, I won’t. Calm down, Lance,” Shiro commanded, “see? This is what I was talking about… But whatever. I’m here when you need to talk” he finished, and left with a concerned expression on his face.

The Cuban grunted, turning around too to go fetch what he needed; he didn’t care if the clothes and the blankets there were dirty and used by others. Lance just wanted something soft to make his nest with. 

His _empty_ nest, no guest on their way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DON'T READ AND RUN!! Leave a comment, please: eve an emoji can be enough.  
> Come say hi on my tumblr @theforgottendaydreamer and leave a message for my lovely beta and I, please!
> 
> Thanks for the support


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout-out to my beta, ray of sunshine and smart genius (he's the brain, I'm merely the hand). Love you!  
> -  
> tw: more vomiting, needles and medical stuff, dirty thoughts, panic attacks, awkward boners (not graphic), Lance's father is a piece of sh*t, self-hatred.

Lance leaned heavily against the corridor walls, shivering violently as the heat radiating from his body collided with the freezing partitions.

The Cuban’s knees buckled, and even Lance himself wondered how he could still be somewhat upright and not slumped on the floor already; it probably were his instincts, sending very clear signals and indications to his body and mind, yelling at him to build that nest and find someone to do whatever they wanted to him.

The thought was enough to make him whimper, an odd mixture of arousal and pain spiking from his lower parts to his brain.

Gosh, he needed to do  _ that  _ so badly, to have a guest over and just let them  _ fix  _ him.

Lance walked toward the laundry, his pace painfully slow; the boy’s mind was racing now, because he was sure that not only the others could smell him now, but that the one person he needed now probably hated him. 

For lying.

For being so pathetic, useless, weak.

For being an omega.

-

_ “Lancito, who did this to you?” Beatriz asked her son, crouching in front of him as he stood, beaten and broken, his form bloodied and bruised to the core, “Who was it? Amor, talk to me” she urged, taking her son’s face gently. _

_ Lance, barely 14 years old, turned his gaze away, “I fell” he muttered, timidly. _

_ The woman shook her head sighing, because of course her baby was lying not to upset her, of course. He’d always done that: trying to protect the others from all the sources of sadness, lying about his own well being because he didn’t want to bother anybody. _

_ Beatriz spoke gently, yet her tone was firm “Lance, cariño, I really need you to tell me the truth. Who did this..? And why? Please,” she pleaded, her eyes watery and filled with concern, “trust me, everything will be okay” _

_ “...Papá” he simply stated. _

_ The world around Beatriz froze, blood rushing to her ears as her pupils shrunk, “What?”. _

_ Lance hiccupped, not shedding a tear, “I-it was him,” he whispered, “be-because I told a friend of m-mine that I’m...” he sighed, “and papá found out. He s-said I shouldn’t have show my wea-weakness”.  _

_ He sobbed. _

_ That same week, his father transferred Lance into a different school, and less than a year later the boy joined the Garrison, his secret well kept. _

_ - _

Lance had considered telling the team about him being an omega; he’d taken that option into account more than once, secretly.

But deep down, he was scared. Gosh, he knew he was being irrational, he knew that it would’ve been impossible, he knew he was an adult now, he knew he was thousands of light-years away from his home but… What if his father found out about him telling someone?

Back then, that  _ man  _ had explicitly told him that he had gone easy on him because he was still a child, but now… Now Lance was an adult. And his father- God, calling him that made him gag- would’ve done so much worse to him.

Tulio would have killed him.

Lance staggered, unstable, as his knees hit the floor. He was on all fours now, earning an even worse- or better, depending on how one could see this situation- reaction than when it had happened earlier in the bathroom.

_ Don’t throw up don’t throw up don’t throw up don’t throw up don’t throw up don’t throw up- _

The Blue Paladin’s vision swam and swirled, his eyes crossing as he tried to ground himself, because there was no way that he would pass out there, where anybody, especially his preferred mate could find him like that. No, no way.

A distraught whimper escaped Lance’s thin lips as a violent shiver wrecked him from the inside. Blood was rushing toward downside quickly, his member hard and his back hole tender and ready.

The boy laughed hysterically,  _ this is just too embarrassing, it doesn’t seem real..! _

Lance made a faint effort to drag himself back on his feet, but failed, his legs wobbly as his whole body hurt and begged to be filled.

He didn’t even acknowledge the quick rush of steps headed toward him, skidding to a halt only a few meters behind him.

“Holy shit, Lance” a muffled voice spoke, something in front of their mouth.

The blue-eyed boy didn’t even need to turn around to know that his luck had, once and for all, forsaken him.

_ Oh, Keith… _

The boy with raven hair stood in astonishment behind Lance, his violet eyes wide and wondering, a pale, gloved hand covering his mouth and nose.

“...”

“...Hey, Keith,” the Cuban croaked out, tears now streaming down his tan and flushed cheeks, “s-surprise…”.

The Japanese approached him, removing his shaking hand from his face, “What-”, he paused.

Keith didn’t even know what he wanted to know; he was just utterly confused… That stench...

What was happening to Lance? Keith knew that an alpha’s rut could be painful and violent in some cases, but… This was no rut at all. 

The smell, the lingering feeling of arousal, the shared sensations…  _ Oh.  _ Lance was in heat?

That didn’t seem possible to Keith; the Blue-Paladin was an alpha, afterall, wasn’t he?

“Lance, what’s goi-”

The Blue Paladin interrupted the alpha as he retched violently, lurching forward and screaming between gags.

“Holy fucking shit,” Keith hurried at the other’s side, holding his forehead and torso, “Lance! Lance, stay with me!” he prompted.

_ What’s going on..? _

“Lance, you hear me? Please, answer me!”

But the poor omega was just too busy emptying the contents of his already empty stomach to even stutter out a half-response.

_ Shit! _

Keith quickly took the possible options into account: he could run off and get help, Coran mostly, but that would mean leaving Lance alone in that state. What if he passed out and choked on his vomit? What if something even worse happened?

Then, he could yell for help, but that would mean drawing too much attention and he knew that Lance hated it.

-

_ “For fuck’s sake, Lance, you almost died after the explosion and now you’re telling me you’re okay?”. _

_ Lance just shrugged, “It’s fine, nothing hurts too much” _

_ “So it means that something hurts, after all. Why didn’t you tell anyone? This is serious, you could be dying or-” _

_ “Oh, don’t be so dramatic, Keith. It’s chronic pain, something deep and unknown… I’m not bleeding out or whatever, it’s just pain”. _

_ Keith threw his hands up, “The word ‘just’ doesn’t belong to that sentence, because you almost died! It’s not pain from a scratched knee or a broken bone, it’s-” _

_ “I said I’m fine, it’s not a big deal. Don’t-” Lance inhaled shakily, “don’t tell the others. It’s too embarrassing, so don’t”. _

_ Keith snorted, exasperated, “Did you just say that being in pain is embarrassing?” _

_ “No, you idiot, I said that letting people know about it is embarrassing”. _

_ The Red Paladin shook his head, hands on his hips, “I gotta tell them, I-” _

_ “No!” _

_ Keith’s eyes widened. _

_ “No, Keith, don’t,” the Cuban replied, and the Japanese couldn’t help but notice the tears pricking at the other’s cerulean eyes, “I beg you” he whispered, softly. _

_ And Keith had never seen him so… So broken. _

_ This was ridiculous: the guy had been yelled at by almost every instructor back at the academy, he’d been rejected by so many people and blown up by a psycho and… This was what was making him cry? _

_ Keith didn’t dwell further into it, because handling crying people wasn’t something he was even only remotely good at. But he wished he was, honestly. _

_ Seeing Lance like this, out of all the people he knew, made his heart ache. _

_ “I won’t tell anyone. I promise”. _

_ - _

Now, Keith didn’t want to break the oath, because Lance already seemed too bad off, but he couldn’t let the boy die there.

Lance stopped heaving and slumped forward, still held by Keith who thankfully prevented his body from falling into the mess he’d made. And only now, the Japanese noticed how  _ hot  _ Lance was, in every acceptation of the term. 

“K’th” he moaned, eyes filled with lust and fever, his hand aimlessly reaching out for the other boy.

Keith thanked the gods or whoever was up there that Lance was too out of it to notice the very visible boner bulging between his muscular yet slim thighs, Keith now rock hard and blushing.

“H-hey. I’m going to get help, okay?”

Lance whimpered, distraught, “No, pl’se,” he cried softly, “d’t go...”.

The Red Paladin cursed himself because  _ damn,  _ the Cuban was looking very appealing, despite being sick.

Because that’s what he was, right? Just sick. 

That was the stench that Keith was smelling; those were barely common symptoms of some common illness, weren’t they?

Lance wasn’t… He couldn’t be an-

Keith got startled by a hand- Lance’s- reaching down his pants, “K-Keith..!”, but the Japanese quickly pulled away, easing Lance down on his side in case he had to vomit again.

_ Fuck,  _ moving was difficult with something protruding and throbbing between the legs.

“I’ll be back” he murmured, and left.

Running was painful, but it wasn’t like Keith had any other choice, so he endured it for the few doboshes that took him to reach Coran’s room, where the man had went after dinner.

He knocked on the door quite insistently, anxiety taking over him, “Coran? Are you there?”.

In a few ticks, the door opened, and the ginger man stepped out, yawning, “Number Four, what’s going on? It is a really ungodly hour to wake someone up like this,” he noted sheepishly, but immediately raised an eyebrow at Keith’s panicked face, “Are you okay, lad?”

“It’s-”

“What’s this smell..? It’s not yours, but-” the man sniffed, “Is this… Omega scent?”

“It’s Lance’s,” Keith hurried, “he needs help! I- I don’t know what’s wrong with him but he’s thrown up and almost passed out for a fever and-” 

The advisor interrupted the boy’s rambles by placing his strangely ungloved hands on Keith’s shoulders, “Lad, breathe,” he instructed gently, “everything will be okay. Now, let’s help Number Three, shall we? Lead the way” he said, quickly entering the room to put gloves and boots on.

The two arrived where Lance had been left only a couple of doboshes later, but found the place empty.

“Shit! He was right here” Keith yelled, fists tight.

Coran hummed, “I don’t understand why he’d come in this part of the Castle, it’s not like there are interesting places around here, only the supply-rooms and… Oh.”

“What is it?” Keith asked, anxious.

“Follow me, Keith, I know where he went” he said, and proceeded to walk down the corridor, “The laundry section is only a few turns away, so Lance was probably headed there to gather blankets, soft items of clothing and such to build his nest,” Coran explained, calmly, “but I do have a question for you”

“M-me?”

“Well, for you and the others,” he corrected himself, “this does not seem to be Lance’s first heat, and from the info I gathered, you all spent time together before stumbling here. Have you not noticed that he nested before?”

Keith frowned, “I- I wasn’t Lance’s friend, at least- not a close one. But nobody ever mentioned him being...” he paused.

“...An omega?”

A nod.

“I see. I’m still having trouble understanding how he managed to hide his scent and heats for so long! Do humans get aroused later than Alteans? For us, it usually takes between twelve and fourteen deca-phoebs of age, not longer. Isn’t Lance almost nineteen?”

Keith nodded again, “Well yeah, but… Oh… Oh, no, wait” Keith physically stopped, gasping.

“What is it..?” Coran asked, halting as well.

The Red Paladin swallowed, “I think… I think he was on suppressants back on Earth,” he said, starting to walk again, “he must’ve left the meds there” he finished.

“What are these… Soup-restants?” Coran asked, fiddling with his mustache with a curious expression.

Keith scratched his neck, “I don’t know the science behind that, but suppressants are a medication that people take to reduce and lessen the symptoms of heats,” he stated, “and if you stop taking them without proper guidance, you go in withdrawal… I think this is what’s happening to Lance!”

“Uhm, what you described resembles a medication we Alteans use, but the goal of it is to reduce pain, not suppress the symptoms. That seems… Rather cruel, if I may”

Keith shrugged, “It’s quite common for us, but I agree... ” the boy sighed, “omegas on Earth often take suppressants to be considered as equals and not looked down at”.

“...Do you think that our Lance started the treatment for this very reason?”

“I don’t kn-”.

The two halted abruptly when they heard screaming coming from a room not far from there: those sounds didn’t even seem human… Guttural yelps of pain, suffering, despair. 

“LANCE!” Keith yelled, running off and leaving Coran behind.

The Red Paladin found the Blue one onto the laundry's floor, curled up in a bundle of smelly and dirty cloth; despite the darkness of the room, the only source of light being the leds in the corridor, Keith could clearly see that Lance was crying, rocking back and forth in his feverish, broken state.

“Oh, Lance..,” he muttered, his heart pounding, “shh, it’s going to be okay. I- I brought Coran, and we’ll take care of you” he finished, gently.

He mentally patted himself on the shoulder because the scent was driving him crazy right now, but he was managing fairly well to keep it together.

Lance was not in the right condition for…  _ That.  _ But God, how he wanted him to just-

“Keith, you’re fast, quiznak..!” Coran interrupted the thought, panting, “Oh, oh!” he exclaimed, his head swimming for an instant, “the scent's so strong!”

“C’ran..!” Lance slurred, “n-no pl’se, no...”.

The ginger Altean approached the omega gently, kneeling in front of him, “Oh, dear boy, it’s okay,” he hushed, gently stroking his damp hair. He then turned to Keith, “We shall take him to the infirmary and lessen these withdrawal symptoms before he deteriorates”.

The Red Paladin nodded, “Go ahead and get the place ready, we’ll be right behind you”.

After a hum, Coran left in a hurry.

Lance tossed his head, feverish and delusional, “Papá, por favor, no hagas eso… P-perdóname...” he murmured, “No le contaré a nadie… ¡T-te lo juro! Pa-papá, por f'vor…” he sobbed.

Keith’s heart broke at the sight,

“Shh, Lance, you’ll be okay,” he said, picking him up gently and rubbing his callous thumb on the Blue Paladin’s red and wet cheek, “you’ll be okay...”.

The Japanese boy took the other’s face in his hands, their noses now brushing against each other.

Hesitant lips hovered before Lance’s.

“M’yes, Keith… Pl’se...” Lance begged, slumping forward, “t’ke me...”.

The Red Paladin sighed softly, pulling back: this wasn’t right. Lance wasn’t right, he was far from it.

Keith didn’t want to take advantage of him when he was in this state, so broken and needy for merely genetic reasons. That was wrong.

“I- I can’t, Lance, not now… We have to get you some help,” he whispered, kissing his forehead, “you’ll be okay, I swear”.

That said, he gently picked him up, Lance’s chest pressed against Keith’s muscular back, the brunet’s head on the Red Paladin’s shoulder.

Keith’s member hardened as Lance softly breathed beside his head, his breaths warm and wet, hitched and interrupted by moans. He tried his very best to ignore the Cuban’s erection brushing against his lower back, and thanked the gods once again that nobody could see his.

The walk to the infirmary was painfully slow, but the two paladins eventually got there without further accidents; Coran was awaiting for them.

“Ah, there you are!” he exclaimed, “Number Four, please place the poor lad here,” he instructed, patting the cot beside him, “I did some research in the meantime, and I think I know just the right thing to do in order to alleviate the symptoms of withdrawal” he chirped out.

Keith’s eyebrow rose as he placed Lance down, “Wait, and what about his heat? Can you do something for that too?”

“What do you mean?”

Keith blushed, “He- he’s so… Vulnerable and needy, and these are effects of the heat… Can you do something about it?”

“Oh, Keith,” the man’s gaze softened, “I cannot put him on suppressants abruptly again and pretend that nothing happened; the only thing we can do is lessen the pain and… well,” he cleared his throat, “find a way to alleviate his lusty needs”.

The Red Paladin’s legs wobbled visibly, as he gripped the cot, “D-do you mean I have to..?”.

The Altean raised an eyebrow, allusive, “I never said it had to be you, lad,” he smirked, “but your smell is already similar to Lance’s, so I guess that yes, you are the perfect candidate for this task”

“...You make this whole thing sound so… Medical”

“Isn’t it, though?”.

Keith sighed, lowering his gaze, “Yeah, good point...”.

Coran took Keith’s chin in his hand and raised it delicately, “Keith, you don’t have to do a single thing if you’re not willing to, nobody will force you,” he said, kindly, “I’m sure that Lance would be most happy if you were the one to be with him, but the feeling has to be mutual”.

“I-” Keith stammered, “I do like him, and I- I want to do… Things with him. And I know he always wanted to do so too. But, I don’t know… It doesn’t feel right with him like this”.

“That is mostly excellent, you're a kind soul...” the man chirped out, propping Lance up delicately as Keith joined him, “Now, take his shirt off, please: it’s damp and dirty with vomit, not the best outfit to sleep into”.

Keith blushed violently, and Coran immediately caught his gaze, “Oh, don’t be embarrassed, it’s okay, lad” he smiled, “Lance is aroused and out of control and can't be blamed. I won’t mind his comments nor your reactions”

“M-mine!?”

“Well, I can smell your, huh, horny scent too, Keith,” the man chuckled, “besides, there is nothing wrong with what you two are going through! You’re young and naive, it’s okay to feel the way you do”.

Keith’s face reddened once again, “T-thanks..? I… I just wanna do the right thing”.

“I know, Keith. Now hurry up and take the shirt off of him, he’s not as light as he seems!”

“Y-yeah, right, sorry,” the paladin hurried, and gently started to strip Lance’s upper-body, earning an embarrassingly loud moan from him when their bare skins accidentally touched,

“O-oh, Keith, pl’se..!”

The Japanese bit his lip, as he got hard again, “I’m sorry, just- hold on, Lance”.

He looked over Coran, who had an amused yet pained grin on is face, “Why is he acting  _ this  _ horny?”

“A symptom of suppressant’s withdrawal can be a hyper emotional state, so his senses and desires are heightened considerably. It doesn’t happen when I touch him, as you can witness. Only with you, because he wants you as his mate. Also,” the man sighed, “he is delirious from the pain. If these meds of yours work as the ones I know, what Lance is going through is extremely painful; agonizing, I’d say. I wonder how he can still be conscious”.

As if on cue, Lance sobbed, “¡P-por f’vor, por f’vor haz que p-pare!” he yelled, struggling in Coran’s arms, “Stop, ‘t hurts, me duele m-mucho, help...”.

“What idiom is he speaking right now? It seems different from the one you use”

“It’s Spanish, his native langu- wait... ‘You use’? You’re speaking English too!”

The man laughed, “Not really, lad. What I am using is Altean, but thanks to a translation device installed in every system of the Castle, we’re able to communicate normally. The device picked up the first foreign language spoken after ten thousand deca-phoebs, and that would be your 'English', as you called it".

"I see… I had no idea" Keith hummed, seriously intrigued.

"M'Keith, me duele, pl'se make't stop…"

"Shh," Coran hushed gently, "the pain will stop soon, my boy".

Keith quickly peeled Lance's shirt off and dropped it on the floor; then, he took a gown that Coran had given him and put it on the Cuban boy, his body boiling and wet with sweat, literal drops of water on his flawless skin.

"All done," Coran smiled, laying Lance back down on his left side.

"Can I ask you to take his pants off? I'd feel… Uncomfortable. And I don't want to hurt him" Keith muttered shyly, "what if he hates me for touching him so much, when he gets better? I don't want to… To take advantage like this. It's bad and wrong… I-I just want him to be okay".

Coran nodded along as he took Lance's shoes and pants off. 

“You’re very considerate for your young age, Keith, it’s admirable".

Coran finished, and went over the sink to wash his hands and wrists.

Keith smiled softly, “Thank you… What can I do?”

“Fetch me a bucket with cold water and a couple of clean rags from the cabinet down there, please,” the man asked as he put sterilized gloves on and fiddled with a long, thin needle.

Keith gulped, eyes wide.

“...You do not have to look if you don’t want to, dear”

The Japanese shook his head to ground himself, looking pale, “Why do you need… That?”

“To ease the pain caused from the withdrawal, I must inject some suppressants in him, and gradually decrease the dose. I still haven’t synthesized a medication that he can take orally, so I’ll have to go with the intravenous way until then” Coran explained, “I won’t hurt him, do not worry, Keith!” he finished, offering a kind and reassuring smile, “Chop chop now, lad, I need that water and cloth” he chirped, and started disinfecting the crook of Lance’s right elbow.

Keith turned around, partially because he had to do what the man had asked him to, and also because- and he’ll never admit that out loud- needles scared him.

When he came back to Lance’s bedside with the supplies, less than a dobosh later, the I.V. had been safely inserted, and Coran had started to hook Lance up to other machines.

“Here’s the water and rags,” he rasped out, trying to not look at the needle.

“Great! Now come on, help me cool Lance down" 

"How..?"

"Put a wet rag on his forehead first, then wrists and ankles. Oh, but not too wet! We don't want him to lay on a damp mattress." the advisor instructed, "And while you do that, I'll get some other things I need"

"N-no, wait!" Keith yelled, panicked, "What do I do if he wakes up!?"

"Just talk to him and make sure to gather more info on his condition; you got this, Number Four!" Coran smiled, giving thumbs-up, and left.

_ Well… Fuck. _

Keith sighed, resigned to his fate; he dunk the first rag into the bucket, freezing water making his pale skin bumpy and his hairs up, something else shrinking slightly  _ below. _

The Japanese put the cloth on Lance's boiling forehead, ignoring his desperate pleas and pained moans as much as he could, muffled through gritted teeth.

"I swear, Lance, if something worse happens to you because of this, I'll kill you" he murmured, shaking his head.

"Mh, n-no, papá, por fa-favor," the Cuban replied, wincing and drawing his eyebrows together, "m'sorry…".

Now, Keith surely didn't know Spanish well, but if middle-school classes had taught him something in that language were the names of family members and simple phrases.

And Lance was indubitably pleading his father, and he was scared of him in that delusion dream he was having.

The Red Paladin scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, pondering as he kept trying to cool the agonizing omega off, without ripping the I.V. out.

Was Lance scared of his father in real life too, or was that just the fever?

And if Lance  _ was  _ scared of him, why?

What had that man done?

Had the Blue Paladin ever said anything to anyone?

Keith's stream of consciousness got interrupted by Coran's arrival, his beta scent unmistakable, "How is our patient doing?"

"Not good," Keith sighed, "how long will it take him to feel better?"

"I don't really know about that, my lad. What the I.V. is pumping into him is the Altean medication I told you about, but I don't know its effects on humans. Sorry, Keith" 

"N-no, it's okay, Coran," the paladin hurried, smiling gently, "it's not your fault" he murmured, lowering his eyes as his smile faded.

"Hey, look at me, Number Four," the man instructed kindly, "Lance will be okay, I promise. It could take a while, but he will feel better eventually, alright?"

"...Understood"

"Great. Now all we can do is wait. Also, Lance should eat something up as well to keep his strength up, he must be starving! I'll go ask Hunk to-"

"No!" Keith yelled, panicked.

"...What?"

"P-please, don't tell the others. I… I don't think they know about all of this. Lance probably wanted to keep the secret. It's bad enough that two of us know about him being an omega. Lance will be the one to talk to the others, if he'll ever want to," Keith gripped the boy's hand, "please, Coran".

The man seemed hesitant, but nodded in agreement after an instant, "Okay, Keith. But… I don't know for how long we'll manage to hide this from the team, because they are all going to wake up in less than six vargas and I sincerely doubt that our Lance will get much better by then".

Because Lance was still shivering and muttering, pleading apologies and begging in an odd English-Spanish mix, mumbling and tossing his head restlessly.

"I'll… I'll ask him to tell the team, when he wakes up"

"...Alright then," the man sighed, "you can go now, I'll watch over him" he smiled.

Keith shook his head, "I'll stay, don't worry. You go, I'll call if anything gets worse"

"Are you sure you can handle this on your own?" Coran asked, raising an eyebrow, and Lance nodded, "Then, after he wakes up, you'll have to gradually decrease the dosage. Here," the man showed Keith as he rotated a small screw-like part on the I.V., "you can hear the click when you do it right. One click every half varga, alright?"

Keith winced internally at the thought of having to be close to that object, but nodded.

"I shall bid you goodnight, then!", and with that, the ginger Altean left.

Keith sat down next to Lance, his thumb rubbing the back of the boy's limp hand, and waited.

He must had fallen asleep, because when someone called his name, he jerked awake, violently, getting up rapidly and pushing the chair on the floor.

"K-K'th?" Lance called weakly from the bed, his eyelids slightly apart.

The Japanese's purple eyes beamed with joy and relief as he took Lance's head in his hands, gently, and kissed his forehead,

"You're okay! Oh, Lance, you're okay…" he sobbed happily, hormones taking over.

"W't happ'd..? It… Hurts" the Cuban muttered, his left hand sliding to his guts and gripping the shirt over it and whimpering, "Am I... Sick?"

"Yeah, sort of," Keith smiled gently, going on the other side of the bed to reduce the I.V. dosage, "what do you remember?".

Lance's eyebrows lowered as he reflected, "I… I d't know," he admitted, "I was… I needed to find- oh"

"...Lance?"

The Cuban shot up, hands in his messy hair, "No, no pl'se, oh D-Dios" he cried, shivering.

"Woh, woh, it's okay-"

"It's not! I'm gonna-" and before he could finish, Keith's reflexes fast, a bucket was on his knees and he retched into it, desperate sobs in between gags.

"Lance, breathe," Keith instructed, the smell of acidic bile making him cringe, "only Coran and I know about this".

The Red Paladin's words seemed to reach deaf ears.

"I'm gonna- you'll k-kick me out o-of the team," Lance hiccupped, his eyes glassy and lost, "h-he'll find out and-" he retched again.

Keith's heart ached: Lance looked so vulnerable, scared, out of it.

And he could do nothing to help him.

Keith could do nothing to help the person he cared about the most; so, he pulled him into a tight hug, his chin sinking in Lance’s soft mane, lips occasionally kissing it gently.

“You’re okay, Lance. Nobody will hurt you, you’re safe,” the Red Paladin whispered, “I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Nobody on this ship will, because we’ll all look out for you”

“Y-you don’t u-understand-” Lance wheezed, his breath worryingly short and erratic, “I’m we-weak and my father w-will kill me if- if he finds out y’know ab--about me-”

“No. No, he won’t. I will not let him touch you, Lance, I promise”

“Ke-Keith, no, I’m-” the Cuban choked, air not getting in his lungs anymore.

The machines beeped crazily, further stressing Lance and alarming Keith,  _ is he dying?,  _ and Coran rushed in.

“What is going on? Lance, my boy, what is it?” the man asked, checking the machines and vitals in a hurry.

“C-Can’t b-”

“He’s hyperventilating,” Keith informed, still holding Lance in his arms, “I don’t know if it’s a panic attack or withdrawal or-”

But before he could finish the sentence, Coran was already near the I.V. pole, injecting something into the thin tube inserted in Lance’s arm.

The boy visibly relaxed within a few instants, slumping further into Keith’s strong embrace.

“Both,” Coran stated, looking at Keith, “it was a combination of the two, I assume. Did you speak with him?”

“Y-yeah, briefly… I don’t know if that counted as speaking, he seemed so out of it,” Keith stuttered, “he was being a paranoid...” he finished, setting a barely semi-conscious Lance down, his blue eyes still rolling as he muttered something incomprehensible. 

“Over what?” the Altean asked, curious and worried.

The Red Paladin hesitated, but he answered nonetheless, “He was saying that his father would find out that we know Lance’s an omega and that he would hurt him or something” he murmured.

Coran hummed, checking Lance’s vitals once again, “His fever isn’t nearly high enough for him to have hallucinations”.

A cold shiver ran down Keith’s spine, goosebumps rising on his pale skin as dread sat in his stomach, “Are you saying that he was saying the truth?”

“... I suppose so,” the advisor answered, his eyebrows arching, upset, “if our boy has really been mistreated for being an omega, it may explain why he never told us in the first place. Even if we have only been together for a few quintants, I have noticed his lack of eagerness to speak about the topic… I just assumed he was ‘ashamed’-” and Coran made sure that the air quotes were clear, “-of remaining unclaimed and pure at his age”.

“I guessed so too” the Japanese stuttered, looking away.

“...Have you ever, you know, done things?”

“M-me?” Keith blushed violently, “no, no!”

“I figured” the man nodded, fiddling with his mustache.

Keith’s face reddened even further, “Wh- hey, what is that supposed to mean!?”

“Nothing, my boy. There’s no pressure in finding someone to claim or to be claimed by,” the man sighed, “back in my days it was all so different. My first time has been an absolute disaster! I will not give you any detail, but at the end of the, huh, performance, there was blukomp all over the walls, and it took days to clean everything up. Also, I’ve never had the chance to talk with that lovely lady after the encounter, which was a shame because she’d seen all of me and I’d seen all of her, so at least a ‘goodbye’ would have been widely appreciated, especially after what she’d done to my di-”.

The Paladin’s eyes widened, “Okay, first, we don’t ‘claim’ anyone, second,” Keith breathed in, his hands joined, index on his chin, “what the actual quiznak, Coran! ‘Not give you details’ my butt, that was disgusting. And what even is blukomp? No, wait, I don’t wanna know..!”

The man laughed, a hand on his tummy, “Ah, young folks are so naive these days!”; his smile faded as he lowered his eyes to meet Lance’s rolling ones, “I cannot believe nor tolerate that someone like Lance had to go through that kind of abuse… It feels unreal”

“Yeah,” Keith nodded along, “I told him I- we will protect him, but he didn’t seem relieved at all...”

“Give him time, my boy. Given his improvement over these-” Coran checked his ticker, always in the pocket, “-three vargas, I am sure he will be feeling even better before the team wakes up. Then, our Lance will have to choose when and if he wants to tell the others about this issue”.

A nod, simple and unsure.

“Go, Keith. You need to rest up; I can handle him for the rest of the night” the man instructed gently.

“No, no, I’ll stay… Besides, I’m not even tired: I managed to get a few vargas of sleep before he woke me up with his noises-”

“M’sorry K’th...” came as a mumble from below, and Keith and Coran immediately looked at Lance, now slighter more aware than before, “didn’t m’n to wake ya up”

“It’s fine, don’t worry. I never sleep much anyway” the boy with corvine hair smiled gently, stroking Lance’s damp hair, his bangs plastered to his sweaty forehead.

“Lance, my dear, how are you feeling?” Coran asked, checking the vitals again.

The boy’s eyebrows knitted in discomfort, “Like I r’lly need t’ jerk off, Keith’s face over here’s pr’tty” he said nonchalantly as Keith gasped and looked away, his boner threatening to come back any second now.

“I understand, that’s normal,” the Altean commented, “any other symptom or needs you have?”.

Lance gingerly sat up, wincing, “I’m thirsty,” the boy muttered, a hand rising to his throat, “and I want t’ die” he finished, lowering his gaze.

The man raised an eyebrow, “We can do something about the first request. Number Four, would you?”

“Oh- yeah, sure” the Japanese said, leaving to get water.

Coran looked down at Lance’s pained face again, “We should talk about the second thing, though. What is going on, Lance?”

The Blue Paladin’s eyes remained fixed on his hands folded in his lap.

“...Lance, you need to talk to me. To us,” the man smiled, “we won’t judge. On the contrary, we want to help and make you feel better”.

In that instant, Keith returned with a glass full of water to the brim, “Here”

“Th’nks,” the sick guy muttered, taking the container in his shaky grab, “s’rry about the weird stuff, but y’re pretty and I’m hard”.

The Red Paladin lowered his eyes, taking them up immediately as he blushed, “I can see that. What did you give him, Coran?”

“A tranquilliser!” the man exclaimed happily, “Made him relax and feel inhibited in case he-”

“Yeah, I get that” the other replied, crossing his arms, still embarrassed.

Coran chuckled again, but quickly regained a serious look, “Listen, we really want to help you, lad. But you need to tell us what’s going on, okay?” he asked, voice soft yet firm.

The boy remained silent once again.

“Lance,” Keith spoke up, “you owe us an explanation, man. I found you vomiting and almost dying in the corridor at 1AM. You’re an omega and you never told us, despite the bonding exercises we’ve been doing since day one, and apparently your father wants to kill you or something… And, on top of that, you’re going through withdrawal, we don’t have your pills and you’re saying weird shit about me,”  _ which I like very much,  _ Keith added mentally, “so please, please tell us what’s happening”.

Now, Keith wasn’t expecting Lance to burst into tears, he really wasn’t. So, when the Cuban teen’s eyes filled with salty drops of water, graciously falling down his cheeks and nose sides as he let the glass fall and shutter into pieces, he panicked.

_ Fuck! _

“Oh- oh no, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Lance, please don’t cry!” he all but yelled, hands hovering above Lance’s shoulders, unsure on how to proceed.

Coran gently pried Keith away, caressing soothing circles on the Blue Paladin’s back as he sobbed, “It’s okay, let it all out, lad. Tell us what happened”

“M-my father ha-hates omegas,” he sniffled, “he thinks we’re w-weak and useless and- and that bo-boys shouldn’t be like th-this! He told me to k-keep the secret and I started taking suppressants imm-immediately,” Lance stuttered, his breath hitched, “and now I do-don’t have them anymo-more!”

“Wait,” Keith stepped forward, his eyes wide, “you've been taking suppressants since your first cycle?”

A vigorous nod.

“No, Lance, oh my God, that’s terrible!” he yelled, absolutely shocked.

“Why?” Coran asked, alarmed.

The Japanese put a hand in his hair, running through it, “Suppressants can’t be taken during one’s first heat, it’s too dangerous! Why did you do it, Lance!? Damn it… One could become mentally unstable and prone to illnesses and- oh, wait...” he sighed, upset and saddened.

His father had forced him to do that; he’d forced his barely teenage son to take those meds. Moreover, he’d done that because he thought that Lance, his own son, the blood of his blood, was sick, weak, wrong.

_ Goddamn bastard. _

“M’sorry, so sorry,” the Cuban cried again, his hands covering the reddened face, “I’ll heal, it’ll pass, m’sorry guys” he repeated like a mantra as he rocked back and forth.

“Hey!” Keith shouted, realizing how harsh it sounded a second too late, “hey, no. There’s nothing to heal, you understand me? Heat’s normal, it’s part of life, and- and being an omega is fine. You’re valid, okay? Omegas are not weak nor less important than the others, and I need you to get that. Alright, Lance?” the Japanese said, eyes fierce and tone shaking with anger.

Not toward Lance, no; toward his father. For ruining Lance like this, for making him think less of himself and of those like him, for making him go through hell at such a young age.

“I n-need those, I can’t be kicked out of- of the team, you’re all too imp-important!”

“I have already started to think about what we could use in the Castle’s laboratory to synthesize a new type of medication for you, lad,” the Altean man cut in, caressing his nape, “but just to make it clear, you would not be kicked out of the team, were you to stop taking them-”

“I need them!” the boy yelled, not letting the older man finish the sentence, “y-you don’t know what it’s like! To be- to be looked down at, to be beaten and-” he sobbed, drying his tears with the sleeve, anger replacing sadness on his face, “you guys don’t k-know anything about my li-life, you can’t-”

“Lance, we just want to help” Keith tried, reaching out gently, “we won’t force you to do anything”

“Y-yeah, right...”

“Seriously, man, we won’t judge. We literally only want you to be okay”

Lance laughed bitterly, “Why? ‘Cause we’re ‘family’? ‘Cause you ‘care about me’? Please, don’t make me laugh… It’s my fault, I deserve this, it’s fine. You don’t n-need to pretend that you care that much”.

And that, oh, that hurt Keith. Because he’d tried to hard to consider the team family, and he’d managed to do so in such a short time- not like he had anyone else to love- and now the backbone of the group was simply… Stepping out?

“But we do care, you idiot. We all care about you and each other, Lance!” Keith yelled, not angry, not sad, just confused, “That’s how a team works, and you should know it. I get that you’re unstable now, and it’s not your fault for that, but you can’t refuse help like this. If you’re in danger, we all are, and that means we’re doomed. So if you love us, you should try and love yourself too, and vice versa, alright? We need you and you need us, so enough with this Calimero-like bullshit. We are not blaming you, just- work with us!” he snapped, his inner alpha indubitably taking the lead.

Lance seemed to have shrunk in size, his shoulders hard and closer to his chest, still. He knew that he was being weird, and that he wasn’t fully in control of his emotions, but… But he also knew that he definitely shouldn’t have got hard just by getting yelled at by Keith.

Gosh, he was a mess. A horny, high mess.

But Lance was also feeling guilty, because even if it statistically didn’t take much for Keith to snap, he’d never gone that far- besides that mishap with Griffin back then- and that was fairly awkward.

“I’m… I’m sorry” he muttered, not really knowing what else to say. What has he  _ supposed  _ to say, anyway?

“...I think that perhaps it would be better for Lance to head back to his room and get some rest on a decent bed,” Coran cut in after clearing his throat, loudly enough to willingly interrupt the fight, “Keith, go. I’ll take him there”.

And, once again, the Red Paladin offered to take care of the issue himself.

“You don’t have to do this,” Lance murmured, still embarrassed for his awkward boner and his terrible attitude, “I c-can get there on my own”

“I’m not taking any chances… Finding you in the corridor earlier was bad enough, I really don’t want to repeat that” the alpha boy replied as he helped the Cuban on his feet, swaying slightly and leaning into Keith rather than gripping the I.V. pole, which was apparently going with them- Coran's orders.

“Sorry…" he whispered, looking at him.

Had he always had such beautiful, deep, shining eyes?

“No problem. Now let’s go, you need to rest”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, what a ride! 7k+ words, I feel drained...  
> Next chapter's gonna be explicit, so beware!  
> DON'T READ AND RUN!! Leave a comment, please: eve an emoji can be enough.  
> Come say hi on my tumblr @theforgottendaydreamer and leave a message for my lovely beta and I, please!
> 
> Thanks for the support


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sssoo, hi! You may have noticed that the number of chapters changed from 3 to 4… But I’m publishing them on the same day, and on the same day as the anniversary, wow!  
> -  
> tw: sex (anal, oral, etc) and nasties (dirty talk and gross things of the human body), very explicit; more self-hatred and doubting; more angst; mentions of past abuse; cuddles (not a tw but I want to reassure you that everything is going to be okay).  
> Friendly reminder that our boyz are +18 in this (my hc is that Lance’s almost 19 and that Keith’s 19 and a half already).

Lance heavily leaned against the I.V. pole as he dragged it alongside him down the corridors, Keith anxiously walking less than a meter behind him, ready to catch the omega were he to collapse.

“You can lean against me if you want; that’d be easier for both of us” Keith prompted not for the first time

The Cuban shook his head groggily, “N-no, I d-don’t want to touch you,” he whispered, “I can’t co-control it down there, I don’t-”

“Lance, it’s okay. It’s not your fault, I thought I was clear earlier when I told you,” the Red Paladin sighed, blushing slightly, “what’s happening to you is normal and I won’t get mad if you… Y’know, get hard or something. Not your fault, man”

The other glanced back at him with a dubious smirk, “You s-sure seemed mad before, though”

“Not about your boner, idiot! It’s the whole… Self-doubting crap that is deeply unsettling, okay?” Keith basically yelled, crossing his arms, “now I’m mad again, happy?”

“Aw,” the Blue Paladin smiled, turning to look at the corridor in front of him and leaving Keith behind, “I know yo-you love me” he joked with a soft chuckle, and the young Japanese quickly became as red as his own armor, a hand rapidly fluìying to cover his face.

Lance was joking, right? Sexual attraction was one thing, but talking about love was surely another matter.

“Whatever” he muttered, mentally slapping himself hard. He didn’t even think that Lance could drive him insane just like that, with a joke-  _ because that’s what it was, right?- _ but the lethal mix of hormones, hidden feelings and attraction were enough to set both of the boys on edge, their erections barely concealed and their hearts racing.

Lance cleared his throat, still walking in front of Keith and not looking at him in the eyes, “Listen, I’m s-sorry for what I did and said,” he exhaled shakily, “I a-also think I grabbed your di-”

“No, you didn’t. Almost, but you didn’t, it’s okay”  _ please just drop the issue already! _

“Ah… Still, I’m sorry K-Keith. I me-mean, I wanted to and I sti-still do, but… Oh, I’m rambling, sorry. Fo-forget that, it’s the hormones” he moaned, sad.

The Red Paladin swallowed, blushing again as he felt his member slick and wet-  _ wow, am I that weak?-  _ and prayed the gods that the stains wouldn’t show on his pants, “Stop apologising, it’s annoying”

“...Sorry”

“Lance! Oh, for fuck’s sake, are you doing this on purpose?” the Japanese exhaled exasperated, speeding up to reach Lance’s side.

“I can’t help it, man!” the other replied, rolling his eyes and regretting the action that left him dizzy.

Keith surpassed him, his arms still crossed, “You see, this is what I was talking about. You’re always looking down on yourself, apologising like you can’t live without doing it, but you have to realize that it can’t always be your fault! Things happen and we’re not always in control and- Lance?”.

As he turned, Keith saw the Blue Paladin on his knees, shaking violently and sobbing, his hands both gripping the pole for dear life. The alpha’s eyes widened in shock, as he paced back quickly and crouched in front of the boy, “Lance, what is it? Are you hurt?” he asked frantically, as his hands slowly reached to his trembling shoulders. The omega slapped them away, weakly, “D-don’t, it’s fine” he croaked out.

“You don’t sound ‘fine’!”

“I said it’s fine!” Lance yelled with an animalistic growl, his cold eyes piercing through Keith’s as he fell back on his butt for the shock, “I- I said it’s okay, why w-won’t you believe me!? I know it’s bad, I know these goddamn hormones and drugs are slow a-and violent, a-and they hurt. But even if- even if I complain, nothing will ch-change, so quit asking me i-if I’m okay, ‘cause I’m n-not but it doesn’t matter!” he finished, panting.

“Lance...”

“Just… Whatever, man” the Cuban exhaled weakly, not even trying to hide the fat tears dropping from his gracious eyes, “I’m broken, that’s what my father always said. H-he was right, Keith...”.

And at that, Keith’s heart dropped. Was that what Lance thought of himself? That he was broken? How could a man tell his own creature such cruelties? How could someone tell something that horrifying to Lance, out of everyone? Why him, why  _ his  _ Lance?

The Japanese's instincts were kicking in, far too late to repress them.

“No” Keith simply stated, fists tight and face dark, as the omega’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion and shock,

“...What?”

“No, Lance. You’re not broken, and your shitty father is wrong,” he said as kneeled, grabbing Lance’s collar and lifting him up so that their intense gazes could stare at one another, “I will not allow you to speak of yourself in this way. I will not tolerate any self-hatred from you,” he muttered through gritted teeth, his fist tightening on the omega’s shirt, “is that clear?”

“K-Keith..!”

“Is. That. Clear.” he interrupted, imposing himself violently.

And Lance could do nothing but nod timidly, blushing as his erection hardened between his slim legs, throbbing at the beat of his racing heart, “Y-yes”.

They stared at each other thoughtfully, Keith’s purple irises bright and flaming with anger and lust in front of a helpless pair of deep blue ponds.

“I’m gonna kiss you now” the Japanese stated, not even waiting for a reply. Their lips connected, Lance's soft ones against Keith's, chapped; the boys' noses brushed against each other, thankfully not getting in the way as they melted into a gentle yet passionate kiss.

Softness got soon replaced by greediness and sheer desire, as Keith promptly shove his tongue into Lance’s moaning mouth. His hands took the brunet's hair vigorously yet carefully enough to avoid hurting him, pulling him closer.

The Cuban pushed himself away after some instants, too baffled to cooperate, “K-Keith, anyone could see us-”

“Let’s take this to your room, then. Hurry” he instructed as he got up, offering a hand to Lance, and he took it gladly.

“You d-don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” the omega muttered as he got on his feet, blushing and almost drooling at the thought of what could eventually happen, “don’t feel obliged t-to help me if-”

“You know I want to, and I know you want this as well,” he replied as he started pacing fast toward the room, “you do want it, right?” he finished as they reached the room, automatic doors opening quickly before them.

Because what was he, an animal? Even if his instincts were driven by hormones, it didn’t mean that Keith wasn’t worried about Lance’s thoughts on this. He openly needed the Blue Paladin to be consensual, he didn't want to ruin this.

“Y-yeah,” the other replied, “I do, very much. I just want to make sure that I’m not f-forcing you only because of my stupid heat”

“It’s not stupid” Keith replied, pushing Lance down on the bare bed, landing with a muffled thud, “why did you make the nest on the floor?”

“I- I don’t know how it works, it’s my first time building one, I just assumed-”

“Here, build it properly” the other interrupted, picking the nest up and tossing the cloths on the bed.

“Wait! What do you mean?” he asked, panicking as he tried to adjust the blanket and clothes in the best way he could, unsure on how to properly proceed.

Keith skidded to a halt, pleasantly surprised, “...You’ve never built a nest and had s-”

“I have done  _ things _ , just… Well, the nest wasn't needed” Lance blurted out.

“So... You’re a virgin?” the other asked with a smirk, his mind racing.

The other cowered in shame, “Nice, Keith, mock the sick guy...”

“I’m not mocking you. I’m a virgin too,” Keith replied, “but I do know how things work. I may have lived in the desert, but I had internet too, y’know”

“That's... I don’t even know how to reply to that,” Lance replied wide-eyed, “just… Nevermind!”

“Hey,” the Japanese said, looking down at Lance with kind eyes and taking his chin seductively, “we’ll get through this together”

“...Thanks, Keith,” the omega replied as he blushed, and gingerly removed the I.V. “guess I won’t need this for a while” he muttered, tossing the needle aside.

“You won’t” Keith replied with a smirk, crawling on the bed on all fours as Lance laid on his back, elbows below keeping him upright

The Cuban took a moment to analyze the boy in front of him: his thin lips were shining, tongue occasionally wetting the surface, a lusty grin on them. The Red Paladin’s thick eyebrows were arched in desire, soft wrinkles forming on his pale forehead and nose. And, speaking of nose,  _ gosh, the scent..! _

Lance couldn’t help whimpering, overwhelmed: the alpha’s hormones were unconcealable too, so violent and dizzying. As if on cue, the other crawled forward, slowly, his gaze getting more and more malicious, “Lance...” he breathed out, towering said boy, “I want you”.

The Japanese’s hand swiftly reached for the omega’s crotch, still hidden by the hospital gown and underwear, and pressed down gradually; the moan that escaped Lance’s panting mouth was absolutely filthy, his eyes slightly rolling back as he drew his knees closer.

“Yes K-Keith!”

“You have to beg for it, Lance,” the alpha ordered with a pleased smirk, “beg for it!”.

The other’s hips wiggled, hands now on the sides of Keith’s dark hair, “P-please, I want more” he whimpered, and the Red Paladin obliged, taking Lance’s still covered crotch in his hand and squeezed and toyed with it, loud cries pleasing him, “You like this?”

“F-fuck, yeah, I love it, ah〜” the Blue Paladin keened dirtily, as he dragged Keith toward him and stuck his long tongue in the Japanese’s mouth.

Their tongues entangled and fought, sliding in every corner of each other’s mouths greedily, exploring it all. Keith took advantage of Lance’s distraction and slowly removed his hand from the boy’s covered pubis. He glided said hand under the gown- his mouth still busy- and pressed in on Lance’s bare abdomen, just on his belly button, his thumb caressing its rim delicately.

The omega moaned in Keith’s mouth, a trail of saliva drooling down the side of his tan skin; he brought his knee up, carefully trying to avoid hitting Keith in the balls with violence, but up enough to caress his erection.

The alpha pulled away from the kiss, grinning, “Are you trying to excite me?”

“Y-yes, I guess?” he replied, uncertain and scared.

Keith huffed out a malicious laugh, “Nice, keep going”, as slid his hand all the way down Lance’s abdomen and into his boxers, grabbing the throbbing member. His cold fingers soon warmed up after the contact with Lance’s cock and balls, so hot and slick.

“Keith〜” Lance bit into his own hand, promptly brought up to muffle the noise, his knee shaking against the alpha’s crotch and getting him to grunt at the friction.

“Y-you wanna go all the way?” the Japanese asked once again, and Lance almost laughed- still feeling the pleasure- “Y-you literally ha-have my dick in your hand at this point,” he forced out, smiling, “I want you to take me all, K-Keith! It’s not hormones nor the drugs, I- I’ve wanted this for a while”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to regret anything. I just… I want you to feel better and happy and- and I’d love to-”

“Then let’s do it,” Lance interrupted, “I’m re-ready, and I’m sure. I- I wouldn’t want it to be anybody else” he finished with a smile, embarrassed.

And that’s all that mattered to Keith, honestly.

After a quick nod, he pulled Lance’s boxers down, revealing his erection.

“It’s beautiful,” he breathed out, astonished, “such a nice shape 〜 ” he commented maliciously while kissing its head lightly to set Lance on edge, and the omega moaned in response, “F-fuck, oh shit…”.

A couple of instants later, the Cuban’s dick was in Keith’s wide mouth, tongue gently stroking it as the corvine head bobbed up and down rhythmically; the omega’s hips spasmed, and the Japanese teen rapidly placed his hands on the other’s hip bones to pin him down. Keith smirked, letting his teeth delicately bite Lance’s member, not to hurt him but in order to excite him more, pain known to be a good stimulant during sex.

Minutes passed, not a coherent word spoken if not Lance’s occasional drunk pleas and grunts, his toes curled and his face red like .

“Ah, K-Keith, I’m g-gonna-” Lance grunted, grabbing the sheets hard, “Keith 〜 ”.

The alpha released the other’s dick, looking at his straight in the eyes with a grin, “Already?”

“I-it’s been a while, okay!?” he huffed, panting.

The Red Paladin smirked again, grabbing the turgid dick with one hand while the other reached for his own.

“No, w-wait. Let me do it” the omega pleaded, eyes watery with lust, and the Japanese simply nodded, “Sixty-nine?”

“Yeah, i-is that okay?” he asked, eyebrows arched in worry.

“Fine by me” Keith replied, taking his shoes, pants and underwear off and tossing them away; he laid on his side, facing Lance’s bare pelvis, the other boy in the same position. It didn’t take much to adjust and the boy’s immediately took each other into their mouths, toying with the genitals and grunting in pleasure, both on cloud nine after a few minutes.

Lance yelped as Keith’s hands slid on his hip and grabbed his toned ass, tan skin smooth and clear, and gently caressed the buttcrack, still sucking.

“I’m t-ticklish,” the Blue Paladin said feverishly, briefly freeing his mouth, “ah 〜” he murmured, taking Keith’s dick again, not expecting the next move. All he knew was that before he could do anything about it, half of Keith’s middle finger was up his ass, moving quickly.

He screamed- his mouth still full of Keith- as he wiggled his hips again, “more!” Lance yelled, and the alpha inserted the ring finger too and slowly arched them inside the warm cavity, licking his own lips after letting go of Lance’s cock, “You like it?” he muttered, filthy, his own dick still in the omega’s mouth.

He moaned in agreement, sucking harder than before, a strangled cry leaving Keith’s lungs, heart throbbing, “O-oh w-wait Lance, ‘m close〜!”

“Keith, m-mierda, Keith!”

It was only a matter of instants before they both came almost simultaneously, grunting and orgasming with loud cries and gasps, unloading on each other’s faces as sperm tickled down their flushed cheeks. They both flopped on the back, panting for oxygen, silent and spent as they stared at the ceiling.

Thick and warm secretions stained the bare mattress, a mix of smells- sweat, hormones, sperm, saliva- combined being almost suffocating, yet somewhat enjoyable and pleasing. The deafening silence, however, was not.

Keith was the first to speak after a couple of minutes, still breathless.

“Y-you good?” he asked nonchalantly, not having the strength to prop himself up yet.

Lance hummed, adding a “And y-you?”, his voice croaked.

“Could do this all day… Ready for round two yet?”

“J-just gimme a sec, man...” Lance replied, his left hand flying to his own now-flaccid dick, massaging it to ease the fatigue, “Oh, how I loved it, Keith”

“Same. Hell, it was amazing, Lance, s-seriously” he rasped out, smiling sincerely.

“Hey huh… Have you ever done butt stuff?” the Japanese asked after another moment, still catching his breath loudly.

Lance seemed to hesitate, “Butt stuff as in 'sex with a penis involved', you mean?”

“Yeah, that”

“N-no, I’m still a virgin, as I already said… I’ve used toys, though. Does that count as 'butt stuff'?”

Keith shrugged, “I guess so”

“...And you? Have you used them before?”

“Yeah, on my own,” the alpha muttered in reply, “never had someone using them on me… Not yet, anyway”.

Lance chuckled, “Too bad we don’t have them here, huh? I’d use those on you”

“Thanks? I’d- that’d be nice,” he smiled, “what did you use?”

“An anal plug, but it was only for a couple of times,” the omega replied, “you?”

“Dildo… Easier to use by yourself, y’know”

“Nice, nice” the omega replied, focusing on the ceiling once again. The Cuban sighed after that, “This… This is so weird...”

“What's weird?” Keith asked, getting up and flopping back next to Lance, now facing his head and not his pelvis.

The Blue Paladin blushed, shaking his head timidly, “I’ve… I've never been with a man. It's my first time to try anything with a guy, y'know?”

"Wait, you said a dude used the anal plug on you-"

“That’s not what… Listen, I… I, huh, I never said it was a man to do it. It… I actually was with this girl…”

“A girl?” 

“Yeah. A girl,” he blurted out, looking away to hide the tears, “I’m sorry, I should’ve told you earlier”.

Keith smiled sympathetically, sighing, “Lance, it’s okay. I’m not mad, don’t worry”

“Y-you’re not?” the Cuban hiccupped, goddamn hormones!

“No. Why should I be? It’s okay to like both girls and boys, really,” Keith reassured him, caressing his hair kindly, “I don’t see anything wrong with it”

“Are- are you saying this only because we’re both naked and covered in sperm..?” Lance tried to joke, tears still streaming down his face, and Keith rolled his purple eyes, “No, dumbass, I mean it! I don’t know who made you think that liking both is wrong, but it’s not, honestly”.

“T-thanks… Hey, huh...You're very good at giving blowjobs, though," Lance added, looking away in embarrassment, "was it your first one?"

"Yeah, it was. I've always done things on my own, and… God, it's so bad to say it out loud, but I may have practiced".

Lance snorted, baffled, "Please don't tell me you did it with the-"

"With the dildo, yes. Happy?"

"Ohh my gosh!" the omega chuckled, but his amusement faded soon.

Tension lingered in the air, neither of the boys daring to make the next move. 

They were scared, yes, but they would've rather died before admitting it; scared of  _ what,  _ though?

Scared of the next step? Of their feelings? To know what they were at this point and what they would become after having sex, maybe? What  _ were  _ they?

“Listen, Keith," Lance spoke up as the other took his sweaty shirt off, now completely naked too, "if you don’t want to go further, it’s fine… I actually feel better already” the Cuban offered, swallowing the lump in his throat and thanking the tranquilliser still in his bloodstream for giving him that false yet comforting sense of inner peace and lightness.

“I already told you I want to. Do you?”

“Yes, of course. I just… Nevermind” 

“Hey, don’t do that… Maybe talk about it?” the Japanese prompted, and Lance huffed annoyed, “Can we have sex first? P-please, I’m still tender and sore down there… Y’know, heat and stuff… Amd you smell… Good!"

“...Okay but-”

“Condoms are on that shelf there” he added, pointing at said piece of furniture and letting the hand flop back tìon the mattress.

Keith got up and grabbed the small packets, smirking, “Where did you even get these?”

“I, huh, had them in my pocket when we left Earth… My original plans for the night were different, y’know”

“Damn, you’re one horny dude, aren’t you?” the Japanese asked, going back to the bad with a malicious grin, to which Lance replied rolling his eyes, “Just fuck me already”

"Eager, aren't we?" Keith muttered under his breath, going on top of Lance and propping himself up on his elbows, his dark hair tickling the Cuban's face as he looked up at him, "Do you want me inside you?"

"Yes please," the omega breathed out, snatching the condoms from the alpha’s hands and taking one out, blushing, "I want all of you"

"And how much do you want it, exactly?" the Japanese teased, a thumb flying up to the bare nipples.

"S-so much!"

A hum, "Gotta be more specific, dear," he snarled and reached for the boy's exposed crotch, still slick and moist, "what do you want me to do? Say it"

"I-" Lance swallowed, lust devouring him, "I want you all inside of me and- I want you to ride me, p-please!" he pleaded, applying the condom to Keith’s bare erection.

Keith smirked once again, grunting in pleasure as the omega’s long fingers caressed his member gently to put the latex protection on. 

As he finished, after a quick kiss on Keith’s tip, the omega laid on his back, a pillow under his head for better comfort. The Red Paladin didn’t hesitate further and stuck his middle and ring fingers into the omega’s ass, already stretched out from before; Lance moaned, pleasure overjoying him, and wiggled his hips to beg for more after only a few instants. And the alpha obliged, adding his index finger, slowly.

“Oh yeah, like that〜” Lance moaned, his blue eyes beseeching for a further intrusion.

At that, Keith started scissoring, enjoying the pained yet pleased yelps coming from the boy below him, deepening the motion by the second, now inside Lance up to his dry knuckles, their lips slogging together as a thin thread of drool formed when they pulled apart briefly every now and then, to catch their breath.

And, in all honesty, the omega’s pleas and moans sent the alpha into override, his own dick hardening.

“Are you ready?”

“Y-yeah... ” Lance whimpered, smiling gently.

“I’ll be gentle"

"N-no, don't," the omega muttered, blushing, "I like it rough"

"I- I just don’t want to hurt you. Not too much, anyway”

“You won’t, I trust you. Just… Don't hold back” the Blue Paladin answered, eyes filled with primordial greed, taking the Japanese’s face delicately, thumbs rubbing the alpha’s temples, “I’m ready”.

Nodding, Keith proceeded to remove his fingers from Lance’s ass and stuck his dick in, grunting in pleasure at the tightness and warmth, “Oh, wow〜” he commented, barely audible over the omega’s gasps. 

“Y’good?” Keith then asked, looking down at the Blue Paladin, whose mouth was open, unlike his eyes, shut firmly.

“Yeah, ‘m fine, gonna n-need a second to adjust. You're… huge” Lance commented sincerely, whimpering excitedly at the intrusion.

A few instants later, Lance wiggled his hips, ready to proceed, and Keith surely didn’t waste time: he thrust all in, the boy below him yelping loudly, and proceeded to move his own hips back and forth, steadily and rhythmically.

The omega’s cries of pleasure made Keith euphoric, fully aware that he was the one to make Lance fall apart like that, eyes rolling back as his dick plunged deeper and deeper, hands gripping the mattress just at the sides of Lance’s head; the Cuban teen wrapped his long legs around the alpha’s waist, and started teasing his own nipples, screaming in pleasure.

“¡Sí, Keith, ah〜!” he yelled, already on cloud nine as he dug his nails into the alpha’s scalp, “¡Dame más, no pares ahora!” he finished, as his toes curled and twisted uncontrollably.

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re saying,” Keith commented, sticking his tongue in Lance’s mouth unceremoniously, their teeth clinging together for an instant before they adjusted, “but don’t stop!”.

They didn’t know how long it had passed, but they were both painfully close to cumming now, their erections rock-hard and moist, liquids spilling already.

“Mnh- aah, K-Keith, I’m gonna-”

“M-me too!” the Japanese replied, panting through gritted teeth, “b-but I want to take y-you from behind first!” he yelled.

“Th-then hurry!” the other complained, eyes shut as he grabbed his own dick, “Get out and hurry already, hijo de puta madre-” and with a soft  _ pop,  _ the alpha was out, and ungraciously flipped the other, now prone, him grabbing the pillow previously under his head and placing it under his body, just below the waist to angle up his ass a bit.

In the blink of an eye, Keith was back into Lance’s ass, riding him in full-caveman mindset, not a coherent word escaping his parted lips, teeth showing as he grunted through them. The Red Paladin grabbed a handful of Lance’s hair, the other hand covering the boy’s gaping mouth and shoving two fingers inside, which Lance started sucking, his wet and warm tongue encircling them seductively.

Lance was louder like this, less inhibited as the mattress under him moving to the rhythm of the thrusts, his face buried in the soft surface to muffle the cries.

Just when he thought he’d reached nirvana, Keith managed to hit the right spot, again and again, and a wave of dizziness and ecstasy washed over the Cuban, who screamed out loud, a couple of tears escaping his blue eyes.

“Yeah, justo ahí, Keith!” he shouted, letting go of the fingers: the friction that the moving mattress gave to his dick, added to the explosion of sensations inside of him- in any sense, literally- and to the violent sounds and scents emanating from the alpha brought him where he’d never been. Keith too felt like he was in some sort of heavenly place, Lance’s hot buttcheeks clapping with the Japanese’s pubis and embracing him, all inside.

Keith knew for sure he'd hit the right spot when the Cuban screamed his lungs out with a strangled laughter, his voice high-pitched and wet, 

"Mnh ah~ there, there, fuck me, fuck me Keith, ahh~!" he yelled, eyes rolling back in his skull, pleasure overwhelming.

The Red Paladin smirked, and grunted in surprise as the other's movements slightly twisted his dick- since Lance's asshole rotated at his movements.

“Lance, h-holy shit- I’m gonna-” he tried to warn, not soon enough though: he came inside of Lance- the condom still on, thankfully- with vehemence, grunting and yelping as he unloaded, followed by the omega who came a few instants later, still screaming, “Fuck, yes Keith, yes!”.

Their orgasms were loud, sincere and pleasant, sending shivers down their bodies as they trembled, still one inside of the other.

The two stayed on top of each other for some minutes before Keith had the strength and the breath necessary to crawl down the boy’s back and on the other side of the bed, both still panting and moaning; the omega was still laid on his belly, while the alpha was sprawled on his back, knees too weak to even bend.

Their tired gazes eventually met, eyes smiling like their mouths, finally happy and fulfilled. Lance timidly reached out to grab Keith’s hand, and their fingers entangled together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they finally did it, yey! But now it's time to talk about the main issues: Lance's insecurities and lies. Hopefully the team won't be mad. Hopefully...  
> -  
> Next chapter's already out!
> 
> DON'T READ AND RUN!! Leave a comment, please: eve an emoji can be enough.  
> Come say hi on my tumblr @theforgottendaydreamer and leave a message for my lovely beta and I, please!
> 
> Thanks for the support


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, sorry for the delay! This week’s been crazy for everybody. So… It’s finally over. Anyway here’s the final chapter of “nothing to fix”; please take a minute to read the final notes, because there’s some important things my beta and I have to say. Thanks!  
> -  
> TW: more self esteem-issues, Tulio's still a piece of sh*t (worse now), mentions of past abuse, vomit and stuff not good for squeamish people.

Keith and Lance's languid gazes were lost in each other, the boys smiling tenderly, fully satisfied and absolutely spent.

"That- that was amazing, Lance” the alpha breathed out, still astonished by the recent events.

“I agree,” the Cuban replied, “thank you for this… For caring and giving me the best orgasms of my life”

“Please don’t thank me for banging, it’s weird-"

“Wh- of course I want to thank you! You did this for me, and you didn’t necessarily have to. So yeah, again, thanks”

“You’re welcome, I guess? And by the way, I had great orgasms too, honestly!" he smiled "ah, wait, do I have to thank you too?” the Japanese joked, rolling on his side to face the other, “How does it work?”.

Lance’s eyes rolled and he blushed, “You don’t have to thank me because in this case it was me to need a favour”

“A... A favour? Lance,” the Red Paladin said, dead-serious as he sat up, “I didn’t have sex with you to do you a favour. Well, that too, but… But I did it especially because I like you and I’ve wanted this for a while, and I- I thought you did too" he replied, stuttering.

“...So you were serious when you said that? When you said you liked me..?”

“Of course! Were you not!?”

Lance sat up too, and raised his hands defensively, “Yes, I was! I just- I thought you were taking pity on me or something”

"Oh, not this again," the Red Paladin sighed loudly, burying his face and immediately regretting the actions as his hands were sticky dnd dirty, "listen, we fucked and I can tell that you're satisfied now, so it's time for us to have a little discussion. What's with you and these self-esteem issues all of the sudden!?"

"It's not 'all of the sudden', Keith!" he yelled exasperated, "I have been trying my best to hide what I am, and that includes these issues too. I can and I will handle those by myself. I've been doing fine so far!"

"Apologising every other minute and thinking that a guy slept with you only because you're pitiful or whatever does not sound like 'doing fine', you know that, right?" 

"Gee, I wonder where my self-esteem issues come from..." 

"Don't be an idiot," Keith growled, "we've met for the first time after years less than two weeks ago, and this doesn't sound like a thing you get overnight"

"It's not, but it doesn't matter-"

"Yes it does!".

In the aftermath of the scream, the tension in the air broke, both boys longing to say more, but not having the courage to do so.

Because Lance still thought that it didn't matter, he always did. But Keith was saying otherwise, and he trusted him. 

"...I'm sorry" the Cuban muttered, looking away.

"You're apologising again," Keith commented, not really angry, "I should be the one to say sorry. I was rude to you, so… I'm sorry, Lance".

_ Fuck, why is it so hard? _

"Listen," he continued, "I really want to know what happened to you, because that's the only way I have to help. I'm not a doctor nor a therapist or whatever, but- but I can listen. I won't judge you, and most importantly, this will not change things between us".

Lance chuckled bitterly, "I don't even know what we are, though"

"We'll figure it out in detail later, but just so you know- as I already said- I like you. I have for a while… Like, two weeks"

"That's… Not a lot?" the omega commented, unimpressed but curious nonetheless.

"Yeah well, I hadn't seen you for, like, three years after I dropped out, and I was kind of a jerk back then" the Japanese explained, "the point is, that even if it's only been a short time, I really like you. I'm not sure about love yet, but I definitely would like to be with you, maybe bond in a deeper way"

"Deeper than your dick in my ass?" the Blue Paladin joked, earning a scold from the other, "Yeah, bad joke, wrong time, my bad"

"...So that's all you have to say?"

"No, no, I'm sorry!" Lance hurried, groaning at his choice of words, "the feeling is mutual, I promise. I like you too, a lot. And it's not the heat, because I liked you before you dropped out too… I know you're being honest 'cause I could smell you before, and I'm sorry I don't have any concrete proof because those drugs fucked my scent up".

Keith's eyes shone with surprise, "Your words are enough for me. And… Really? You already had a crush on me back then?"

"A hundred percent, but I was pretty good at hiding it. Let's be honest here, brooding dudes are definitely my type!"

"I'm not- ugh, whatever," the Japanese sighed, "now spill: what’s wrong? You can tell me".

Lance hesitated, “There’s not much to say anyway, it’s just… I think I already told you that my father hates omegas, and that’s it” he shrugged, looking away once again.

The Japanese sighed, and gently took the other’s chin in his pale hands and turned his head towards his direction; yet, Lance’s eyes were glued to the other side of the room, unmoving.

“Hey,” the alpha breathed out, “please, look at me. You can do this, you’re safe here”.

And the Cuban did look at Keith, because there was no way on Earth- or, well, in space- that he could ignore the boy in front of him, his voice powerful yet gentle, fingers caressing his face, a welcoming smile waiting for Lance’s gaze to see it, “I’m here for you, we all are. You don’t have to be ashamed nor afraid anymore” Keith muttered softly, eyebrows arching tenderly.

“Keith…” the omega muttered, as his cerulean eyes got watery, “I don’t know what to say”

“Maybe start with your father? What-" Keith stopped, unsure on how to proceed but willing to find out more, "what happened to you, Lance? What did he do?" he finished, tone soft.

And at that, Lance’s brain acted like a damaged dam: hot, fat tears started rolling down his eyes as he hiccupped helplessly. Yet, he was smiling… But it wasn’t a happy grin, Keith noticed; it looked like the smirk of a broken soul, not beyond repair but close to the point where turning back would not be possible. Very close to it.

Lance mumbled, effortlessly taking his bare wrists up trying to dry those heavy tears dense of emotions, his cries uncontrollable yet cathartic, 

“My father hates me because I’m- I’m flawed,” he chuckled bitterly, pupils shrunk and unfocused, “from- from the moment I went into heat for the first time, he-! Not even a day had passed since the start of my first cycle and- and that fucker forced me to take suppressants-” Lance laughed creepily, and Keith’s dread worsened, “and- I remember it hurt so much, man. I cried and pleaded him to make it stop, but- but he didn’t give a shit! You know when the crystal exploded? I didn't feel half the pain I experienced when I was thirteen"

“Lance, breathe-” 

“The doctor told my father ‘your son can’t start taking these now, he’s too young’," Lance apostrophed, his voice deeper on purpose, "and he just ignored that!”.

He was panting now, gulping for air as it left his lungs, “My father dragged me to a friend of his who gave me those goddamn drugs and after that he took me to another doctor and lied, telling her that it was not my first heat" the omega stopped, anger visibly showing on his enraged face and posture.

"And you know what he did to me when I vomited the pills seconds after the very first time I took them?"

“N-no..?” the alpha replied, not wanting to fuel the other’s desperate rage but being aware that he needed to get that out.

The Cuban’s fists tightened, “He picked them up from the vomit, since they were still intact, and forced them down my throat again. I- those didn't stay down for long, and he repeated that. Over and over and over… I think I passed out at some point," he paused, thinking, "I remember waking up on the bathroom's floor as I laid in my own mess, and I heard him talking to mamá. She came up to me and-” his voice quivered, “I always asked her not to jump between my father and I, because- because I love her too much and I didn’t want her to get hurt… But… But once, after he beat me for the hundredth time, she dialed 911 and-” Lance stopped, burying his face in his shaking hands.

Keith was speechless, and scared. Scared of what that piece of shit had said and done to  _ his  _ Lance, of the invisible scars, of the psychological damage he’d caused.

“What did he do?” he asked, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“He-” Lance choked, “that bastard beat her with every object around and- and knocked her out for good. My siblings got her h-help, barely in time… And he spent that time h-hitting me” the Cuban stopped, sobbing.

Keith approached him in the most non-threatening stance possible, slowly reaching out with his hand, not to startle the crying omega; then, he started rubbing soothing circles on his back, slowly and steadily, applying just the right amount of pressure to provide comfort, “Lance, shh, breathe” he instructed gently, not really knowing what else to say.

The Blue Paladin leaned against the Red one, his head now buried in Keith’s shoulder as said boy wrapped his arms around Lance, shushing him softly.

“Mamá tried to get all of us away b-but she couldn’t… That man was always one step ahead of our plans! And- and when we tried to flee, he’d make me pay for it… S-so my mother just stopped trying”

“Lance-”

“This is why I never said anything about this! ‘Cause-” the Cuban stopped once again, in the middle of a full-blown attack.

“Because he’d take it out on your mom if he found out you said anything...” Keith finished, gasping at the realization, "but he won't. We're all here for you".

The Cuban just yelped, helpless.

“I’m so sorry for what happened, Lance-” the alpha was furious, but madness wasn’t the answer now, so he pushed it down, lurking in the shadows of his soul, “that piece of shit had no right to do those things… You and your mother didn’t deserve any of it, omega or not. God, I’d beat him to a pulp if I had the chance! But- but now you have to focus on healing. I can help- and the others too, alright? We will try our best, and that man will not even be able to step in the same building as you anymore, I promise”

“I just want to be happy, Keith,” Lance sobbed, “why can’t I be happy? Why can't I be fixed?”

“You can't be fixed because there is nothing to fix, Lance. You- man, you're brave, selfless, kind and amazing overall... What's to fix in that?" Keith asked rhetorically "Yes, you may have some weaknesses, we all do. I'm a hothead drop-out. Shiro put his mission before-"  _ before Adam and I " _ before everything and look what happened! Hunk's scared all the time, even when we're not in danger. Pidge sometimes is too absorbed by their devices that they lose track of time and events. Allura's way to strict and won't let us help her as much as we could. Coran… Well, he's kinda amazing, not gonna lie, but he sure talks too much for me" Keith admitted, caressing his own chin.

Lance smirked, eyes still watery and glued to his lap, thankfully covered with a blanket, "You're just too grumpy-"

"Exactly! See? We all have flaws, but this doesn't mean we have to be fixed! We're living beings, perfect in our own way. And you, Lance… You are perfect to me. You're perfect to us all" he blurted.

"Keith-"

"Because you are you. The one and only Lance McClain," the Japanese smiled tenderly, "I wouldn't want you to be in any other way… You're perfect in all of what you call your imperfections" he finished, smiling.

And the Blue Paladin didn't wait another second to squeeze him into a tight hug, blankets entangled and wrinkled.

For some time, they stayed silent, enjoying the contact, pure and emotional; but Keith knew what the next step was, and even if he was aware that Lance knew too what was coming, his heart sank at the thought of interrupting such a sweet and passionate bonding moment.

"...Lance, listen. You have to tell the others. They can help too" Keith breathed out, pulling away from the hug to look at the omega's face.

“No, no, I can’t, I’m not strong enough to face them...” Lance replied, pressing his trembling hands on his hears as he cowered lower, almost bent in half, still sat in front of Keith, who pulled the hands away, gently but with enough strength to keep them away, 

“You are way stronger than you can ever imagine, Lance… You can do this” his voice cracked as he lowered his head and let go, “I just want you to be happy. It really hurts me to see someone you like this, so… So upset and beat up. Lance, believe me when I say that I know you have every right to feel like that, because you’ve gone through some bad shit. But baby," (and Lance's heart skipped a beat at the nickname) "I beg you, just… Just let us help. Let  _ me  _ help," Keith breathed out softly, taking the other's hands delicately, "I want to be with you and you’re too important to lose, Lance” he finished, raising his head and smiling, purple eyes watery.

“...Okay” Lance simply replied, astonished, confused, pained.

Because he was important to Keith.

Because Keith wanted to be with him _. _

Because he was  _ perfect. _

With that thought, he layed back down in Keith's arms, and they both fell asleep rather quickly: tired, dirty and naked, but finally at peace.

-

Keith woke up after roughly three vargas, as their holographic clocks signaled that it was around 7.15AM- speaking in Earth's terms- far too late for training.

He breathed in deeply, the familiar and welcomed weight on him making the action slightly hard; yet, the alpha smiled at the brunet resting on his , a tiny stream of drool falling down his calm face and onto Keith's bare chest. The Red Paladin gently caressed that chocolate hair, enjoying the scent and the volume of it.

He got lost in his fantasies apparently, because when he snapped back, a pair of sky-blue eyes were staring at him. Keith smiled, "Hey, hello"

"Mh, 'morning" Lance replied sheepishly, smirking as well and yawning loudly, "slept well?"

A hum, "And you?"

"Same, I slept like a rock…" he chuckled, "which is pretty good for only four hours of rest"

"Four?" the alpha questioned, eyes wide. He looked at the clock again: 8.02AM.

"Oh, we're very, very late for everything at this point," the Red Paladin sighed, smiling tenderly as he looked down at Lance, “the others will get suspicious if we don’t join them now” he stated, caressing the other’s arm with his thumb.

-

Keith exited from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his slim and boney waist barely covering his crotch and ass, as he rubbed another on his hair to dry it, “Hey, you’re still in bed, Lance?”

A hum came from the Cuban boy, sprawled on his back, an arm covering his eyes.

“You should definitely get a shower as soon as possible, considering that we were supposed to be on the bridge almost two hours ago” the alpha said, still drying his body, “Can I steal a pair of underwear? I don’t want to put mine back on, it’s, huh, dirty”

“Sure,” Lance replied, “second drawer” he breathed out, thanking himself for not throwing his underpants in the nest too.

He heard Keith dropping the towel and peeked with a smirk, admiring his naked cock and his toned buttcheeks, “Well, hello there~”

“Lance, don’t be so awkward,” Keith replied as he blushed and quickly hid himself with the underwear, “I swear, it was less weird when you sucked my dick! Also, go shower, you reek”

“I reek of your sp-”

“McClain, I swear! Listen, I’ll drag you in the shower myself if you don’t go now”

Lance huffed, “Ugh, fine,” he gave in, getting up and stretching, “I’ll be back soon. But I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to keep me company...” he finished with a wink, and left.

The Japanese actually considered joining Lance under the warm stream, fantasizing on the many possibilities, but eventually scratched that idea: the most important matter now was to get Lance to talk to the others about everything. They needed to know, because Keith- despite he hated having to admit it- could not single-handedly help Lance. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted, even if the temptation was sure strong.

As if on cue, the Cuban came out of the bathroom, a trail of steam following him, “Phew, that was one good shower, I needed it”

“Told ya,” Keith smirked, “now the only thing I need is to eat s- hey, what are you doing!?” he called out as Lance all but flopped back onto the bed, curling up in a ball, his towel- bigger than the one the Japanese teen had used- wrapped around him like a veil.

“I want to rest," Lance commented, rolling on his side and not facing Keith anymore, “‘m too tired to care about food".

Keith’s eyebrows furrowed in concern, “How are you feeling?”

“I just said I’m tired,“ the omega teen huffed, not really annoyed, “weren’t you listening?”

“I- I meant beside that. Are you experiencing vertigo, nausea or… Or something else, maybe?”.

After a brief pause, a soft hum escaped Lance’s thin lips, “I’m feelin’ a bit sick, I guess” he replied, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Do you think you need some more drugs? After all, your body only had three-something hours to adjust” Keith said, sitting up and looking at the I.V., cringing.

Lance rolled on his other side now facing the alpha, “Mh, I don’t know… I think I do. I really don’t want to throw up again, it was awful”. He sat up too, sighing, “Can you help me, please?”.

Keith’s already pale skin got even whiter, “S-sure, yeah, I- I can do that” he chuckled, eyeing the needle.

“...On second thought, I’ll do that by myself,” the Cuban stated, eyeing the other skeptically, “can you just, huh, pass me a cotton ball and something that can act as disinfectant? There should be something in the cabinets-” he stopped.

_ Ah, right…  _

He’d tossed everything on the floor while looking for his suppressants.

“On the floor, yeah. You should find those there” Lance finished, massaging his head.

Keith nodded and got up to fulfill his task, coming back from the bathroom after a minute or so- and Lance was surprisingly already dressed up- with a tiny bottle which seemed to contain some sort of thick, phosphorescent liquid and a couple of tiny cotton balls- or the Altean equivalent of that. He handed them to Lance, who thanked him with a smile, and then- reluctantly- rolled the I.V. pole closer to the Cuban, looking at everything but that.

“Thanks,” Lance replied and immediately started sterilizing the crook of his elbow; when his eyes rose to get the needle, he noticed the green tinge Keith’s face had taken, and smiled softly, “you don’t have to look. I’ll be quick, count to ten and I’ll be done”

The alpha didn’t look too convinced.

“I know what I’m doing, chill. Come on, close your eyes and breathe…”. And Keith did.

A few moments later, Lance padded the other’s leg, “All done. You good?” he asked, concerned but slightly amused at the irony.

“I- I should be asking you that,” Keith replied, his voice croaked, “I’m sorry, it’s just-” but before he could finish, the Cuban’s lips were pressed against his, gently. They both pulled away seconds later,

“You don’t have to explain,” Lance nodded, “it’s okay to have fears”

“...This is awfully similar to the speech I gave you earlier,” Keith smirked, crossing his arms in false annoyment, “not fair”.

“And you had to go and ruin it” the Cuban muttered jokingly as he rolled his eyes, his pointy elbow nudging at the alpha’s upper arm. They both laughed sincerely amused, their gazes meeting and taking all of the person in front of them in.

They had each other. They could get through this.

-

“A-are you sure about holding hands already?” Keith fidgeted nervously as he and Lance held hands while walking towards the bridge, “the others will-”.

Lance just shrugged, smiling bitterly, “They probably smelled us already. And... It’s better this way. We’ll have to explain less”.

_ - _

The huge door slid open when the newly-formed couple came across it, both inhaling and exhaling deeply, getting ready for whatever would come.

The gazes they were met by were almost comical: Hunk, Pidge, Shiro and Allura- all sat on the couches- stared at them wide-eyed, mouths agapes and noses twitching every now and then. Coran was busy at the control deck, checking coordinates and making sure that the Castle systems worked.

“...Hello” the omega muttered, blushing timidly as he scratched his neck, “so, you probably have a few q-”

“Wh- how? Since when!” the engineer stuttered, grabbing his thick dark hair, “Lance! You’re- what! Oh gosh- the smell, it’s so strong now”.

Pidge was next, yelling over Shiro’s incoherent mumbles, “How did you manage to hide this? And why!? Also- why are you two holding hands- ooh no, no, no, wait!”

“You smell alike!” the Princess cut in, gasping, “you’re mates now!?”

“Yes, we are-” Keith tried to talk, now interrupted by his foster brother,

“I can’t believe it! You two did- and Lance is an omega- what-” Shiro babbled, astonished.

“People!” the ginger man screamed, slamming his gloved hand against the dashboard; when all the presents snapped their heads toward him, he cleared his throat, “I believe it would be very much appreciated if you let those two talk first”

“Wh- you knew!?” Hunk asked, amazed, but only earned a scold, “ah, yeah, let Lance and Keith talk first. Sorry, sorry!”

“Excellent! While you all discuss, I shall fetch some water and snacks. I believe our lovebirds-”

“Don’t call us that-” Lance commented, facepalming.

“-must be pretty hungry now. I’ll be back in few doboshes!” Coran finished and left for the kitchens, smirking his face off and playing with his mustache.

Silence filled the room as the man left, and all the remaining people exchanged confused and doubtful looks, pupils moving swiftly from one person to another.

“...Do you guys have questions?” Lance asked all of the sudden, lightly startling Keith who sat next to him.

Allura cleared her throat and spoke first, “From what I can smell, I now know that you two are mates and that you, Lance, are an omega... Since- since when?” she asked, tilting her head slightly, “I did not detect any of that during the mind-melding exercises. Furthermore, when you stayed in the pod for a whole quintant, not a single indicator of you being an omega showed up” the princess reasoned, pinching her chin, “Would you mind explaining that?”

Lance sighed, baffled, “Wow, that’s a lot of questions, huh, so… Keith and I have only mated yesterday,” he replied, blushing slightly and looking over at the alpha, who did the same, “then, huh, I’ve been an omega for, well, all my life, I guess? I went into heat for the first time when I was thirt-”

“What!” Hunk and Pidge yelled simultaneously, “and you did not tell Pidge and I about that!?” the Samoan screamed, shocked, “dude, how did you even-”

“One question at the time,” Shiro interrupted, “Lance, please go on” he said, and in that moment Coran came back, a tray in his hands, “Here’s some food and drinks, suit yourself guys” he said quickly and sat on the couch to listen too.

They all thanked him, and the Cuban resumed answering, “As I was saying, I’ve known this since I was thirteen,” he muttered, eyes low, “I managed to hide it thanks to suppressants. I- I’ve been taking them for so long so I guess my omega scent never fully rose,” he finished as he stared at his trembling hands folded on his lap, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell anyone. I… I was scared. That’s not a valid excuse, I know, but… But I couldn’t bring myself to tell you guys. Or anyone else, for the matter”.

Keith gently started caressing the boy’s back, smiling, “You’re doing great” he whispered.

“You see,” Lance said, breathing in shakingly after sipping some juice, “I had lots of problems because of my nature. I wasn’t allowed to tell anybody when I was little, so I never- I never told anyone at all, to avoid further issues. I’m sorry, guys” the omega sighed, swallowing the lump in his throat.

Pidge fixed their glasses, worried, “Why weren’t you allowed to tell anyone?”.

Silence followed.

“Lance-”

“Because my father would’ve hit me if I did,” he blurted out, interrupting Shiro, “he did it anyway, often. But if I told anyone it would’ve been worse. So I just-” he gripped onto the juice box, “I just took my drugs and kept quiet” he basically yelled, as tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

But this time, it wasn’t a matter of sad tears: it was anger. Lance was angry at himself for lying and at his father for doing what he did. As he went into detail with his story, occasionally stopping to gather some strength and inner peace, flashes of terror, disgust, sympathy and fear lightened the faces of the team members, all shocked and bewildered by the words flooding from Lance’s trembling lips.

Keith stayed silent for most of it, gently murmuring reassuring and encouraging words, proud swelling in his chest alongside despair for his lover.

By the time Lance finished revealing his past, he was a sobbing mess, his face stained in tears and sweat, shiny on his caramel skin; he breathed in and out deeply, trying to somewhat calm himself, rocking back and forth slightly as he wept.

“I- I’m so so-sorry,” he hiccupped, “should’ve to-told you before-”

“Yes, you should have!” Allura replied sternly, much to everybody’s shock.

“However,” her tone softened, and so did her gaze, “it was only for a safety matter; had something else happened to you, we might have not been able to help. But I, no, we all are glad you finally told us, and I want to beg for forgiveness for not noticing your discomfort sooner and for my mean affirmations on omegas: those were rude and uncalled for. So, I’m sorry” she bowed her head, eyes watery.

“A-Allura, there’s nothing to forgive, it’s okay, really!” Lance gasped, waving his hands mid-air, “I’m not mad, it’s- it’s fine”.

The princess shook her head, “Berating someone for such reason is despicable, Lance. I just want you to know that I am deeply sorry, and that I never thought less of you, despite my words, and I never will. I love you, my dear paladin” she stated, smiling.

“S-so you’re not mad?” the boy stuttered, seeming almost delirious, “I thought- I thought I fucked up and-”

“Lance, no,” Shiro hurried, kneeling in front of the Cuban, “you just needed time, and for a good reason. We’re not mad-” he said, turning around and extending his hand to make Lance notice the others, who quickly confirmed, nodding rapidly,

“We’re not angry. How and why would we be mad at you!? Lance, buddy, we love you so much” Pidge said, smiling as tears pricked at the corner of their hazel eyes.

“Yeah,” Hunk intervened, "buddy, you were so brave to tell us. You don’t have to be sorry! I just wish we’d known sooner so that we could’ve helped you, but we all accept and respect your decision on waiting, okay?” he asked, searching the Cuban’s eyes, “and from now on, we’ll do whatever we can to protect and help you” Hunk finished with a soft smile.

“What you have been through is indubitably a traumatic experience, and telling us all about it has been one of the bravest acts I have ever seen someone commit, my boy” Coran smiled, drying a tear, “now that we know, we can all help you to feel better”

Shiro cut in, voice stern yet gentle, “Lance, listen to me: what your father did is wrong and unforgivable. I can’t even express how much I hate this guy, and I haven’t even met him! God, I hope for his sake that I never will… The main point is that nobody here will judge you for who you are nor force you to be someone else,” he said, gripping Lance’s shoulders as the omega’s eyes rose to meet his leader’s, “we love you, Lance, and it doesn’t matter if you’re an omega, because that’s not the first thing we see when we think of you. You are brave, smart, funny and skilled. In all honesty, you’re what keeps us together” he finished with a smile.

“Please, never change,” Keith said, “you’re perfect to us, and always will be”.

The Blue Paladin was crying even harder now, overwhelmed by the love and acceptance that his friends were showing, “I love you all” he hiccupped, his voice barely a whisper as he curled up. And the others did the only possible thing they could do: after encircling him, they squeezed the sobbing boy into a tight, sincere and warm hug.

Lance knew it would take time to heal, to feel good about himself, to accept that he was equal, despite what he’d been taught. But he knew he could make it, because he wasn’t alone anymore. 

Because there was nothing to fix.

**_fin_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the_forgotten_daydreamer: It’s really over, wow! Working on this story has been fun and interesting, because I got to write things completely new to me (my first nsfw fanfiction, which is also an omegaverse, also new to me!), and because I got the chance to work alongside a beta for the first time ever. I want to thank him deeply, for having this idea and giving me the honour of writing it. Now, I want to announce something: due to uni exams, I’ll be going on hiatus until the first week of February 2020: I have many new ideas and stories planned out (some are already half done) but I won’t publish anything new until then. I can only say that one of these stories is another dream that my beta had: it’ll be a 10-chapter long Klance story, Altean/Galra AU. No more spoilers! In the meantime, check out my other works, please.  
> Thanks for reading (and stay a bit longer, beta has things to say too!) and for bearing with me. I love you all, and I’ll miss you.  
> \- - -  
> 9Melodious_Nocturne9: It's over! Wow, my first job as a beta, it was exciting! The story was an emotional rollercoaster, but totally worthed it~ I will never thank the_forgotten_daydreamer enough for agreeing to write this idea (luv u <3) and, you, readers for reading it. Thank you all and see you at the next project~ * wink wink *

**Author's Note:**

> DON'T READ AND RUN!! Leave a comment, please: even an emoji can be enough.  
> Come say hi on my tumblr @theforgottendaydreamer and leave a message for my lovely beta and I, please!  
> -  
> Thanks for the support


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